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e-Therapeutics plc looking for partners as it focuses on discovery platform

Published: 08:25 22 Mar 2016 GMT

Lab
Due to the increase in the number of projects, discovery spend was £4.3mln compared to £2.7mln in 2015

e-Therapeutics plc (LON:ETX) is targeting partners to accelerate the development of its drug discovery engine, it told investors.

The update came as the firm unveiled results for the full year to end January, a period in which it said the platform continued to exceed expectations by generating high quality compounds.

"Some of these programmes have the potential to be game changers in immuno-oncology, cancer drug-resistance and anti-infection," the firm said.

The firm is involved in 12 active programmes compared with six at the end of the 2015 year.

Unsurprisingly, due to the increase in projects, discovery spend was £4.3mln compared with £2.7mln in 2015, while the operating loss was £11.6mln versus a loss of £10.2mln the previous year.

The firm ended the year with a healthy cash position and is well funded with £24.8mln. It is due an R&D tax credit of £2.5mln for the year.

Last month, the firm provided a preliminary update following the unblinding of the Phase IIb trial data on its most advanced candidate for depressive disorders -  ETS6103

Since then, it said in-depth analysis has now shown that the profile hoped for the compound had been achieved, including fewer side effects and better tolerance profile than current post-SSRI treatment (a class of drugs often used as first-line antidepressants).

Elsewhere, flagship drug candidate ETS2101 is in phase Ib clinical trials treating hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic cancer and the latest data suggests the potential for compound when given without a steroid pre-med.

The key challenge, the firm said, over the next 18-24 months will be to further validate the novel discovery platform by entering collaborations with established industry partners who can financially and commercially translate the outputs of the platform into medicines.

The company has also generated a variety of preclinical stage assets, including ETX1153c, a functionally resistance-less antibiotic; ETS2300, telomerase inhibition in anti-cancer; ETS3100, small molecule anti-TNFα; ETS2400, in Hedgehog pathway inhibition; and ETS5200, novel broad-spectrum antivirals.

e-Therapeutics present at the Proactive One2One Investor Forum - October 26th

Ali Mortazavi, CEO of e-Therapeutics PLC (AIM:ETX, OTCQX:ETXPF), addressed the challenges of traditional drug discovery, emphasising its high risk, extensive timeline, and considerable cost at the Proactive One2One Investor Forum. Underlining the inefficiencies of this model, Mortazavi posed...

on 1/11/23