logo-loader

ImmuPharma prelims chart year of significant progress

Published: 07:44 30 Apr 2015 BST

testubes_5541cfb6a1b4b

ImmuPharma’s (LON:IMM) prelims charted a year of significant progress – one in which it came several steps closer to getting its flagship treatment for the autoimmune disease lupus to market.

The drug discovery group has developed Lupuzor to the point where it is now ready to go into phase III clinical trials with an amended Special Protocol Assessment that reduces the number of patients required for this pivotal study.

Clinical research firm Simbec-Orion will carry out the trial, but also, under the deal it has with ImmuPharma, has pledged to reinvest a significant portion of its fees in new shares in the AIM listed group at 150p each (current price 52.83p). 

“This arrangement opens many options for our future strategy including further corporate deals in parallel with the possibility of following in the path of the big biotechs by generating our own sales,” the company told investors.

With £5.4mln as at the year-end and a £50mln equity facility with the financing experts Darwin, the company has the funds to carry out the work.

Elsewhere, ImmuPharma is making progress with the next cab off the rank - IPP-204106 for the treatment of cancer and use in degenerative eye-related disorders.

A phase I/IIa clinical trial of the next generation polyplexed nucant formulation carried out at three European hospitals, including the prestigious Institute Jules Bordet, Belgium, has now been completed.

“We anticipate being able to announce the results and future plans for the programme in cancer particularly in the field of combination therapy,” the company said.  

“In addition, the Nucant program has shown some modulation of angiogenesis with multiple applications in cancer as well as in non-cancerous but highly critical clinical indications including ophthalmology.  

“ImmuPharma has been awarded a grant to further investigate the Nucant's potential in this therapeutic area.”   

Separately, it continues to maintain and develop its relationships with France’s leading drug discovery organisation, the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, and Bordeaux University.

As is common with companies at this formative stage of development, ImmuPharma was loss-making. For the year to December 31, the shortfall was a reduced £2.9mln.

++ImmuPharma this morning said it had appointed Dr Stéphane Méry as non-executive director.++

Méry is chief executive of Contronics, which designs and sells laboratory monitoring equipment, and until recently he was Partner at Beringea, a US$400mln venture capital fund.

Before that, he was the fund manager and CEO of the Bloomsbury Bioseed Fund, which was behind the birth of successful companies such as Spirogen (sold to MedImmune) and Abzena (which recently listed on AIM).



ImmuPharma CEO Tim McCarthy discusses financial stability and promising drug...

ImmuPharma PLC (AIM:IMM) chief executive Tim McCarthy provides an extensive update during an interview with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion, focusing on the financial, business, and portfolio developments of the company. McCarthy clarified that the company is in a strong financial position,...

3 weeks, 1 day ago