Contact Information: Contact: Ralph Barry Chief Business Officer Aegis Therapeutics LLC 1-858-618-1400 Ext. 102 Email:
Aegis Therapeutics and Phylogica Collaborate to Deliver Phylomer Peptide Drugs With Patient-Friendly Intranasal Sprays
| Quelle: Aegis Therapeutics LLC
SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - April 14, 2009) - Aegis Therapeutics LLC ("Aegis") and
Australian Drug Discovery company Phylogica Limited (ASX : PYC )
("Phylogica") today announced a collaboration to use Aegis' proprietary
Intravail® transmucosal delivery formulations to deliver Phylogica's
Phylomer® peptide drugs.
Phylogica's CSO and VP of Corporate Development, Dr. Paul Watt, said: "I am
delighted at the agreement since the synergy between Phylomer peptides and
the Intravail® delivery platform was so compelling. Phylomer peptides
are of an ideal size to deliver as a nasal spray using the Intravail®
formulation, since they are much smaller than proteins such as antibodies,
which are delivered far less efficiently by means other than injection."
Dr. Watt said: "Peptides of the size of many of our Phylomers have been
delivered with bio-availabilities of 80%. This is very impressive and
suggests that intranasal delivery of Phylomers may be highly feasible."
Dr. Ed Maggio, the CEO of Aegis, said: "Intranasal delivery is the most
validated non-injectable means of delivering peptides since several
peptides including calcitonin, desmopressin, and nafarelin have been
approved and marketed for years. Intranasal formulations have been shown
to increase market share by more than 30 fold over the corresponding
injectable formulations because patients overwhelmingly prefer to avoid
injections if possible in favor of other delivery approaches." Dr. Maggio
said: "Peptide therapeutics are among the most potent and safe drugs ever
developed. Phylomer technology, for the first time, can harness the nearly
unlimited structural diversity found in thousands of naturally occurring
protein-folds to greatly expand the prospects of novel, safe, and effective
peptide therapeutics in virtually any disease category."
The companies have agreed to offer their services together to parties such
as Pharmaceutical companies, who may be seeking a patient-friendly
intranasal Phylomer peptide developed against their target of interest.
About Phylogica Ltd.
Phylogica Ltd. (ASX : PYC ) (www.phylogica.com) is a biotechnology company
involved in drug discovery, using its proprietary Phylomer® peptide
libraries. Phylomer® peptides are stable fragments of naturally occurring
proteins which bind tightly and specifically to disease targets.
Phylomer® peptides have drug-like properties, including specificity,
potency, stability and flexible production, allowing for chemical or
recombinant means of manufacturing. In addition, these unique peptides are
able to block both extracellular and intracellular disease targets.
Phylogica's proprietary Phylomer® libraries are collections of hundreds
of millions of Phylomer® peptides that represent a rich source of drug
leads for a broad range of disease targets.
About Aegis Therapeutics
Aegis Therapeutics LLC is a drug delivery technology company
commercializing its patented drug delivery and drug formulation
technologies through product-specific licenses. Our patented Intravail®
drug delivery technology enables the non-invasive delivery of a broad range
of protein, peptide and non-peptide macromolecular therapeutics via the
intranasal administration route with exceptionally high and unmatched
bioavailability that can currently only be achieved by injection.
Intravail® has also been successfully applied to buccal, oral, and rectal
administration of both small molecule and peptidic drugs. Our patented
ProTek® technology allows creation of proprietary, easily manufacturable,
and stable aqueous or lyophilized dosage forms that maintain the integrity
and physiological activity of many protein and peptide therapeutics.
ProTek® technology is applicable to injectable, intranasal, and other
dosage forms of peptide or protein therapeutics.
For more information about Aegis, please visit the Aegis website
at: www.aegisthera.com.