Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc (LSE: HEMO), the biotechnology company developing novel therapies to transform bone marrow, or blood stem cell, transplantation for the treatment of blood diseases, will hold its Annual General Meeting today at 10:00am at the offices of Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, 5 Fleet Place, London EC4M 7RD.
Ahead of the formal business of the AGM, the Board will provide the following strategic update on its activities, technology and products following its successful IPO and Admission to the main market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 5 October 2017:
Laboratory activities are progressing well and to plan, with capacity expanded and the Company’s modest scientific recruitment programme almost complete. Activities are focused on working with LakePharma Inc. and Oxford University, its recently announced collaborator, to help progress two distinct but complementary novel proprietary therapies, CDX (a novel bispecific antibody) and HuPHEC (a novel cell therapy), which aim to change the way in which bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell transplants (BMT/HSCT) are performed and strongly improve their efficacy.
The appointment of LakePharma provides a strategic partner to help accelerate development of the Company’s CDX bispecific antibody (an immunotherapy-class treatment) for patient ‘conditioning’, the first step required in preparing patients for a BMT. The Company aims to replace current toxic conditioning modalities, which include radiation and chemotherapy, thereby increasing the number of candidate patients for BMT and allowing a greater proportion of these to be successfully conditioned for the subsequent bone marrow transplant. LakePharma, the largest US-based biologics contract research organisation, brings integrated antibody engineering and bioproduction expertise to allow Hemogenyx to advance its CDX product through the necessary preclinical stages to potentially be ready to enter the clinic within 16 months. To date, work is progressing successfully toward the Company’s immediate goal of submitting an IND application to the US Food and Drug Administration.
As announced in October, Hemogenyx has engaged LakePharma for the development and manufacture of CDX antibodies for Hemogenyx’s conditioning product, a major step in the pre-clinical development of this product using the expertise and validated technology of LakePharma, the largest US-based biologics contract research organisation.
The collaboration with the University of Oxford and Professor Jagdeep Nanchahal’s team at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology aims to examine the action of certain biological molecules on stimulating transplanted blood stem cells to transition – faster and more effectively – from dormant to activated state to produce healthy blood cells. The Company anticipates that the resulting increase in the number of activated blood stem cells will result in the accelerated engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells when transplanted in a BMT. This work could lead to additional uses of the Company’s HuPHEC product. HuPHECs, or Human Post-natal Hemogenic Endothelial Cells, are Hemogenyx’s proprietary source of blood stem cells that are able to generate cancer-free, patient-matched blood stem cells and represent the basis for the Company’s novel cell therapy. A successful outcome of the work with Oxford University has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and safety of future bone marrow transplants.
In addition, Hemogenyx has expanded its material transfer agreement with a major US research university, under which Hemogenyx has secured a reliable high-quality supply of human tissues for the development of both its CDX bispecific antibody product and its HuPHEC cell therapy product.
The Board of Directors are evaluating additional collaborations with a range of potential academic and corporate partners, and hope to be in a position to update shareholders on progress in due course.
In summary, the Directors believe that the Company is well-advanced on the planned development steps that were announced on its Admission and are looking forward to the next 12 months with great confidence and high expectations.
Commenting on the Company’s progress thus far, Dr. Vladislav Sandler, CEO of Hemogenyx, said: “We believe the products we are developing should greatly reduce the dangers of patient conditioning procedures and create a new form of blood stem cell transplantation which, if successful, would significantly enhance the long-term success of bone marrow transplants. The appointment of LakePharma and collaboration with Oxford University represent significant steps towards our strategic goal of applying novel technologies to transform the lives of bone marrow transplant patients. We look forward to keeping shareholders fully abreast of developments as they occur.”
Enquiries:
| Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Limited | www.hemogenyx.com |
| Dr Vladislav Sandler, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder Via Walbrook PR Dr Robin Campbell, Chairman |
Via Walbrook PR |
| Optiva Securities Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)20 3137 1902 |
| Christian Dennis | |
| Shard Capital Partners LLP | Tel: +44 (0)20 7186 9950 |
| Damon Heath, Erik Woolgar | |
| Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 0930 |
| Lucy Williams, Duncan Vasey | |
| Walbrook PR/strong> | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or hemogenyx@walbrookpr.com |
| Paul McManus | Mob: +44 (0)7980 541 893 |
About Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc is a publicly traded company (LSE: HEMO) headquartered in London, with its wholly owned U.S. operating subsidiary, HemoGenyx LLC, located in its state-of-the-art research facility in Brooklyn, New York. HemoGenyx is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies and treatments for blood diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma. The company’s leading technologies aim to change the way in which bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell (BM/HSC) transplants are performed and improve their efficacy. HemoGenyx’s two distinct and complementary products include an immunotherapy product for patient conditioning-the CDX bi-specific antibody-and a cell therapy product for BM/HSC transplantation-the HuPHEC. Each of these products holds the potential to revolutionize the way BM/HSC transplants are being performed, offering solutions that mitigate the dangers and limitations associated with the current standard of care. For more information, visit www.hemogenyx.com.