16 February 2024
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals
plc
("Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals" or the "Company")
CBR Brain
Delivery
Chimeric Bait Receptors for
Combatting Brain Cancers and Neurodegenerative Diseases Can Be
Delivered via Programmed Microglial
Cells
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:
HEMO), the clinical stage biopharmaceutical
group, announces that it has demonstrated
in vivo that its
proprietary Chimeric Bait Receptor ("CBR") can be delivered into
the brain via programmed microglial cells for the potential
treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative
diseases.
Delivery of therapeutics across the
blood-brain barrier is one of the most difficult problems in the
treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases.
Our scientists at have developed a method of transplantation of
human hematopoietic (blood) stem cells ("HSC") that allows their
engraftment and differentiation into microglial cells (immune cells
that reside in the brain) in the brains of immune-compromised
mice.
The Company believes that autologous
HSCs that are genetically modified to make CBR and transplanted
back to a patient could give rise to microglial cells in the
patient's brain. Such microglial cells that have been armed with
CBR could potentially be able to find and phagocytose (ingest and
destroy) either brain cancer cells or abnormal protein aggregations
(e.g., amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's).
The Company's approach described
above may offer a number of benefits: (1) it could deliver CBR
therapeutics across the blood brain barrier; (2) CBR-armed
microglial cells may not be rejected as they are
autologous/patient-derived; (3) CBR-armed microglial cells may
provide long-term protection of the brain against cancer or protein
aggregations because microglial cells live for a long
time; and (4) autologous HSC, which are self-renewing,
could become an almost unlimited source of CBR-armed microglial
cells for the patient.
This is a further indication of the
growing range and versatility of CBR as a potential tool against a
variety of difficult to treat and deadly conditions.
Research continues on CBR and the
Company intends to increase its focus on this once HEMO-CAR-T has
entered clinical trials.
Dr
Vladislav Sandler, CEO & Co-Founder of Hemogenyx
Pharmaceuticals, commented: "This major breakthrough in the method of delivery of our CBR
into the brain is a unique tool that may allow us to successfully
tackle some of the most difficult and often incurable human
diseases. As we broaden the scope of use for our CBR platform, we
are eager to continue its development."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in
this announcement would have been inside information for the
purposes of Article 7 of Regulation No 596/2014 (as it forms part
of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018) until the release of this announcement.
Enquiries:
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Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc
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https://hemogenyx.com
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Dr Vladislav Sandler, Chief
Executive Officer & Co-Founder
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headquarters@hemogenyx.com
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Peter Redmond, Director
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peter.redmond@hemogenyx.com
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SP
Angel Corporate Finance LLP
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Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
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Matthew Johnson, Vadim Alexandre,
Adam Cowl
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Peterhouse Capital Limited
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 0930
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Lucy Williams, Duncan Vasey, Charles
Goodfellow
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About Hemogenyx
Pharmaceuticals plc
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is a
publicly traded company (LSE: HEMO) headquartered in London, with
its US operating subsidiaries, Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals LLC and
Immugenyx LLC, located in New York City at its state-of-the-art
research facility.
The Company is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical group developing new medicines and treatments for
life-threatening diseases. Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is developing
several distinct and complementary product candidates, as well as a
platform technology that it uses as an engine for novel product
development.
