RCS - NetScientific PLC - ProAxsis CEO End of Year Update

NetscientificAnnouncement

10/01/2022 07:05

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RNS Number : 8861X  NetScientific PLC  10 January 2022

NetScientific plc

("NetScientific", the "Group" or the "Company")

 

ProAxsis CEO End of Year Update

 

London, UK - 10 January 2022 - NetScientific plc (AIM: NSCI), the
international life sciences and sustainability technology investment and
commercialisation Group, announces that its wholly owned subsidiary ProAxsis
Limited ("ProAxsis"), has provided a CEO update on the progress it made during
2021.

 

The CEO update notes key achievements during 2021, including an accelerated
R&D programme, enhancement to the existing product portfolio and
development of new revenues streams for 2022 and beyond. Much of the
development work has been co-funded by grant support, including from Invest
Northern Ireland and Innovate UK.

 

The key development work included the development of NE Premium assay with
100-fold improved sensitivity to the current product; the in-licensing from
the University of Geneva in February 2021 of a highly novel protease-related
immunoassay for use in the monitoring of Bone Health in conditions such as
osteoporosis; the in-licencing in June 2021 from AstraZeneca of their
internally-developed COVID-19 serology (antibody) assay; and the development
of a 2-plex protease multiplex panel, which enables simultaneous measurement
of two key proteases (neutrophil elastase and proteinase-3), which have been
associated with COVID-19 symptom severity.

 

John Clarkson, Chairman of NetScientific plc and ProAxsis commented: "We are
delighted with the continued progress being made at ProAxsis with accelerated
developments, new products and additional revenue streams in 2022. In these
challenging times, we can help deliver real benefits to the community, through
the application of ProAxsis' expanding expertise and are looking forward to a
successful 2022."

 

NetScientific holds 95% of ProAxsis on a fully diluted basis.

The full text of the announcement from ProAxsis, which can be viewed in full
below is also available online
here: https://proaxsis.com/proaxsis-update-report/
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__proaxsis.com_proaxsis-2Dupdate-2Dreport_&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=lwwmT1lSfgELFLcwvlJQ2ZXDKcVbkQyitKwD17cChBQ&m=gzWtxNqhFodFaaR8qvakdv7rFgl4LkNTBBbH_vR84ck&s=nbIpY1KN0Q-HqXoX7difx6F8QhDBjUN3pc4gHD4pI9Y&e=)

###

 

As 2022 commences, I am pleased to provide an update on the progress made with
regard to a number of the company's key objectives announced during 2021.
The global coronavirus pandemic continues to create uncertainty in many
markets, including in Respiratory Medicine research, but based on the strong
underlying financial position established via Netscientific's acquisition of
outstanding shares in late 2020, the company has continued to target three key
areas of growth, and thanks to the expertise of its core scientific team, has
made significant progress in each of these:

 

·      An accelerated R&D programme

o  The NE Premium assay has been created to offer improved sensitivity
compared with the company's existing ProteaseTag Active NE Immunoassay,
thereby enabling usage in a wider range of biological samples.  The
development process for this assay has been partially supported by an R&D
grant from Invest Northern Ireland and has proceeded extremely well with the
assay now in the later stages of development prior to its anticipated
registration with a CE Mark and commercial launch in 2022.  The company's
target of a 100-fold improvement in sensitivity has been successfully
achieved.

 

·      An enhancement to the existing product portfolio

o  In February 2021, the company secured an agreement with the University of
Geneva, providing ProAxsis with development and global commercialisation
rights of a highly novel protease-related immunoassay for use in the
monitoring of Bone Health in conditions such as osteoporosis. The K-POSTn
assay format has since been modified by the ProAxsis team to offer maximum
sensitivity and ease-of-use, and the company is planning to register the assay
with a CE Mark in 2022.

 

·     Development of new revenue streams, including as part of the
global response to the COVID-19  pandemic

o  In mid-2021, ProAxsis executed an unprecedented deal for a company of its
size when we agreed a Worldwide licensing deal with AstraZeneca for their
internally-developed COVID-19 serology (antibody) assay.  Whilst much of the
focus of the scientific community and the public to date has been on antigen
tests, to enable identification of current COVID-19 infection, we believe that
there will be an increasing emphasis on antibody testing, to identify which
individuals have detectable levels of antibodies following vaccination and/or
COVID-19 infection.  This is evidenced by data highlighting that booster
shots are needed to raise antibody levels in order to better protect
individuals against the recently-identified Omicron variant of the virus.

 

Since gaining access to the product, the ProAxsis team have continued to work
closely with the team at AstraZeneca to modify the original prototype version
of the assay, adapting various components and processes to create an
easy-to-use, high-performance plasma-based assay for the identification of IgG
antibodies raised against the COVID-19 virus for use in a clinical trial
setting.  Due to the nature of the coronavirus pandemic (increasing number of
known variants, range of vaccines utilised globally, etc.), the assay
development process is complex and time-consuming but the company has now run
numerous samples, indicating that the assay is highly specific and sensitive
for distinguishing between positive and negative samples.

 

In H1 2022, a World-renowned clinical partner who has supported multiple
COVID-related assay development programmes, will conduct several of the
required assay validation steps, which necessitates access to a cohort of very
specific clinical samples, and which will provide key data for the dossier
required to register the assay with a CE Mark.  In parallel, the company
continues to explore additional novel assay formats, and routes to market, for
the product.

 

·    Supported by Innovate UK, the company has successfully developed the
first 2-plex protease multiplex panel, which is now being validated for use in
a range of biological samples. This assay enables simultaneous measurement of
two key proteases (neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3) which have been
associated with COVID-19 symptom severity, utilising a widely available
multiplex platform.  We are currently in discussion with potential
commercialisation partners for this highly novel product and anticipate making
a further announcement on the progress of this assay in due course.

 

These new products are forecast to contribute significant incremental sales in
2022.  Additionally, the company has continued to expand both its commercial
and scientific teams, and expects to announce further news on its laboratory
expansion plans during 2022.

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 NetScientific                                     Via Walbrook PR
 Ilian Iliev, CEO

 WH Ireland (NOMAD, Financial Adviser and Broker)
 Chris Fielding / Darshan Patel                    +44 (0)20 7220 1666

 Walbrook PR
 Nick Rome/ Paul McManus/                          07748 325 236, 07980 541 893

 Nicholas Johnson                                  or 07884 664 686

 

About NetScientific

NetScientific plc (AIM: NSCI) is a holding company, that invests in, develops,
commercialises and realises shareholder value in life sciences/healthcare,
sustainability and technology companies, which offer significant growth
potential predominately in the UK and USA, as well as globally.

 

With the acquisition of EMV Capital in August 2020, the Group doubled its
portfolio from 8 to 17 companies, either through direct subsidiary, balance
sheet investment or capital under advisory, varying from start-up private
companies to publicly listed equities.

 

NetScientific delivers shareholder returns through a proactive and hands-on
management approach to their portfolio companies; identifying, investing in,
and helping to build game-changing companies. The Group targets value
inflection points and the release of value through partial or full exits from
trade sales, public listings, or equity sales. The Company has a strong
transatlantic and growing international presence, providing attractive
expansion prospects.

 

NSCI can deploy a capital-light investment structure; utilising the power of
the PLC Brand, and the NetScientific balance sheet to anchor future
investments and achieve a multiplier effect by attracting 3rd party investment
for the portfolio companies.

 

NetScientific is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and was admitted to
trading on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange, in 2013
(website: www.netscientific.net (https://netscientific.net/) ).

 

About ProAxsis

ProAxsis Limited is a commercial-stage diagnostics company, based in Northern
Ireland, and with a rapidly growing client list of pharmaceutical companies
and academic laboratories.

 

The company promotes a range of assay kits designed for the specific
measurement of active protease biomarkers of disease. Our easy-to-use tests
incorporate patented "ProteaseTags®"; smart molecules which trap an active
protease within a complex biological sample and enable a visual readout of its
presence.

 

The company has registered a CE Mark for activity-based immunoassays targeting
Neutrophil Elastase (NE) and Proteinase 3, as biomarkers of lung infection and
inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and
bronchiectasis.

 

This technology has been translated in to a point-of-care test (NEATstik®),
to enable ongoing monitoring of active NE levels. Recently published data has
shown that measuring active NE levels using NEATstik® enables identification
of patients with airway bacterial infection and those patients at highest risk
of suffering pulmonary exacerbations over the subsequent 12 months.

 

In addition to proteases, the company also has significant expertise in the
measurement of other inflammatory biomarkers, including IL-6, IL-8 and
TNF-alpha.

 

Aside from the provision of assays, ProAxsis is able to offer sample analysis
at its purpose-built laboratory facility in Belfast, and is currently
supporting a number of pharmaceutical company-sponsored Phase I, II and III
clinical trials.

 

 

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