REG - N4 Pharma PLC - siRNA update

N4 PharmaAnnouncement

25/04/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 2792X  N4 Pharma PLC  25 April 2023

25 April 2023

N4 Pharma Plc

("N4 Pharma" or the "Company")

 

siRNA update

 

N4 Pharma Plc (AIM: N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing
Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines, is
pleased to provide a further update on its ongoing in vitro siRNA research
work.

 

BCL-2 assay has been established

Further to the announcement on 18 April 2023, the Company has now completed
work on establishing assays to measure how Nuvec® loaded with BCL-2 siRNA can
silence expression of the BCL-2 protein. BCL-2 is a form of protein that
regulates cell death in healthy cells however aberrant expression can
facilitate tumour development and resistance to cancer therapy.

Testing underway to generate dose response curve for BCL-2 studies

This means that the Company can now proceed to generate a dose response curve
for knockdown of BCL-2 expression to compliment the one already generated for
EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor). EGFR is found on the surface of some
normal cells and is involved in cell growth. It may also be found at high
levels on some types of cancer cells, which causes these cells to grow and
divide.

In vitro studies indicate similar inhibition profile to two commercial
therapies

Further in vitro studies have demonstrated that the maximum inhibition of cell
growth by SiRNA to either EGFR or BCL-2 loaded on Nuvec® was comparable to
that produced by two commercially available small molecule drugs, Gefitinib
for EGFR and Venetoclax for BCL-2.

Gefitinib: (sold in Europe and Asia) is a type of targeted small molecule
cancer drug called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Tyrosine kinases are
proteins that send signals telling cancer cells to grow. Gefitinib blocks
these signals. For Gefitinib to work the cancer cells need to have receptors
for EGFR.

 

Venetoclax: sold under the brand names Venclexta and Venclyxto, is a type of
targeted therapy drug called a BCL-2 inhibitor (blocker)used to treat adults
with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma, or acute
myeloid leukaemia. Some leukaemia or cancer cells make too much of the BCL-2
protein.

 

Next steps

Further work is planned to assess the minimal loading of siRNA on Nuvec® to
achieve comparable inhibition to the two commercially available drugs. The
next step in the in vitro research work is to undertake a full dose response
curve study for siRNA loaded Nuvec® and compare to the dose response curve
for Gefitinib and Venetoclax.

Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

 

"We are very pleased with these in vitro results for Nuvec® loaded with EGFR
and BCL-2, which show that the first investigated dose produces comparable
cellular apoptosis to two commercially available products.

 

"We also now have the assay established to complete the dose response
expression work for BCL-2, but we already know that BCL-2 must be expressed,
as the cell apoptosis work has shown that it knocks down the gene to produce
cell death."

 

Enquiries:

 N4 Pharma Plc                                          Via IFC Advisory

 Nigel Theobald, CEO

 Luke Cairns, Executive Director

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP                         Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470

 Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker

 Matthew Johnson/Kasia Brzozowska (Corporate Finance)

 Vadim Alexandre/Rob Rees (Corporate Broking)

 Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited                  Tel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050

 Joint Broker

 Andy Thacker

 IFC Advisory Limited                                   Tel: +44 (0)20 3934 6630

 Financial PR

 Graham Herring

 Zach Cohen

 

Glossary

siRNA: silencing RNA / short interfering RNA

Nucleotides: organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar
and a phosphate.

EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor, is found on the surface of some normal
cells and is involved in cell growth. It may also be found at high levels on
some types of cancer cells, which causes these cells to grow and divide.

BCL-2: (B-cell lymphoma 2), encoded in humans by the BCL-2 gene, is the
founding member of the BCL-2 family of regulator proteins that regulate cell
death.

Cell apoptosis: the process of programmed cell death.

 

 

About N4 Pharma

N4 Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company developing a novel delivery
system for cancer and vaccine treatments using its unique silica nanoparticle
delivery system called Nuvec®.

N4 Pharma's business model is to partner with companies developing novel
antigens for cancer and vaccine treatments to use Nuvec® as the delivery
vehicle to get their antigen into cells to express the protein needed for the
required immunity. As these products progress through pre-clinical and
clinical programs, N4 Pharma will seek to receive upfront payments, milestone
payments and ultimately royalty payments once products reach the market.

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