PolyTherics Receives Milestone Payment From Celtic Pharma
PolyTherics Limited recently announced it has received an undisclosed milestone payment from Celtic Pharma Holdings, triggered by further progress on their haematology alliance to produce longer-acting versions of blood factor proteins.
In 2012, Celtic (via its subsidiary Cantab Biopharmaceuticals) and PolyTherics successfully completed a feasibility program to evaluate the use of PolyTherics’ TheraPEG technology to develop a unique long-acting PEGylated form of Blood Factor VIII (TheraPEG-FVIII) for the treatment of haemophilia A. Celtic subsequently exercised its option to take an exclusive global licence to use TheraPEG to develop and commercialize a TheraPEG-FVIII product.
TheraPEG-FVIII given by both the intravenous and subcutaneous routes maintained haemostasis for up to 72 hours in a preclinical model of naturally occurring haemophilia A, which indicates that patients could be adequately treated with once-a-week dosing compared to current treatment regimens, which require an average of 3 doses a week. This is believed to be the first study showing that FVIII administered subcutaneously is effective and, combined with the extended duration of action, provides the potential for a more convenient regimen for patients with this life-long condition, especially those using FVIII for regular prophylaxis against bleeding episodes.
Celtic already has exclusive, global licences to use TheraPEG technology to develop and commercialize long-acting forms of Factor IX (for the treatment of haemophilia B) and Factor VIIa (for the treatment of haemophilia types A or B in patients with an immune response to FVIII or FIX, respectively). Under the terms of these licences, PolyTherics is due to receive development and regulatory milestones as well as royalties on future worldwide product sales.
“We are pleased with the progress being made on the production of TheraPEG-FVIII by Cantab Biopharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celtic,” said Michael Earl, Partner in Celtic. “We are seeing the beneficial properties of PolyTherics’ TheraPEG technology being realized across our haemophilia product portfolio and expect to move these programs into full-scale development this year.”
“The continued success of our collaboration with Celtic to produce a portfolio of long-acting blood factors for haemophilia using TheraPEG provides further endorsement of the value of our conjugation technology as well as license revenues to support our growing business,” added John Burt, CEO of PolyTherics.
PolyTherics provides technology solutions to enable the development of better biopharmaceuticals. Its suite of proprietary technologies enables the development of novel antibody drug conjugates (ADC) and biopharmaceuticals with extended duration of action or other desirable clinical characteristics. For more information, visit www.polytherics.com.
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