ABLYNX ANNOUNCES UPDATE ON ANTI-RSV NANOBODY PROGRAMME AND RECEIVES GRANT FUNDING FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
GHENT, Belgium, 31 October 2013 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] today
announced that it has received notice of a ?1.68 million in grant funding from
the Flemish Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) to help
advance the Company's first inhaled Nanobody(®), ALX-0171, in infants. The grant
funding, which is available over a period of one year, will also be used to
explore novel applications of nebulised Nanobodies.
A first Phase I study in healthy volunteers demonstrated that the Nanobody was
well-tolerated and had no clinical significant effects on lung function.
Furthermore, no dose-limited toxicity, no treatment emergent immunogenicity and
no bronchoconstriction occurred. The optimal delivery of the Nanobody through
nebulisation has been demonstrated in a reconstructed upper airway anatomical
model of a 9-month old baby, showing significant deposition of ALX-0171 in the
model infant lung.
An additional pre-clinical study and two additional safety studies are
currently-on-going with the goal to commence the first-in-infant trial during H2
2014.
Dr Edwin Moses, Chairman and CEO of Ablynx commented:
"This grant is a clear endorsement of our pioneering approach in treating RSV
infections in infants. ALX-0171 has the potential to address a high unmet
medical need and could become a transformational anti-RSV treatment. The funding
shows the commitment of IWT to continue to support innovations in Belgium."
About ALX-0171 and RSV
ALX-0171 is a trivalent Nanobody that neutralises viral replication in the
respiratory tract. Its physical robustness allows fast delivery directly into
the lungs, i.e. the site of infection, through nebulisation.
RSV is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and respiratory tract and is
the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under one year
of age. It is the leading cause of infant hospitalization and foremost viral
cause of death in infants. It is estimated that there are more than 300,000
child hospitalisations per year in the seven major markets and the reported
infection rate is 70-80% in children under two years of age. Current treatment
of patients infected with RSV is mostly symptomatic so there remains a high need
for an effective and specific anti-RSV therapeutic drug.
About Ablynx
Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development
of Nanobodies(®), a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain
antibody fragments, for a range of serious human diseases, including
inflammation, haematology, oncology and pulmonary disease. Today, the Company
has approximately 25 programmes in the pipeline and seven Nanobodies at clinical
development stage. Ablynx has on-going research collaborations and significant
partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies including AbbVie, Boehringer
Ingelheim, Eddingpharm, Merck & Co, Merck Serono and Novartis. The Company is
headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on
www.ablynx.com.
For more information, please contact
Ablynx:
Dr Edwin Moses
Chairman and CEO
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07
m: +44 (0)7771 954 193 /
+32 (0)473 39 50 68
e: edwin.moses(at)ablynx.com
Marieke Vermeersch
Associate Director Investor Relations
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 82
m: +32 (0)479 49 06 03
e: marieke.vermeersch(at)ablynx.com
Follow us on Twitter (at)AblynxABLX
Ablynx media relations Consilium Strategic Communications:
Mary-Jane Elliott, Amber Bielecka, Lindsey Neville
t: +44 207 920 2345
e: ablynx(at)consilium-comms.com
Press release in pdf format:
http://hugin.info/137912/R/1739374/583739.pdf
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ablynx via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1739374]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 31.10.2013 - 07:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 311195
Anzahl Zeichen: 4785
contact information:
Town:
Ghent/Zwijnaarde
Kategorie:
Business News
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