Aptamer Group PLC (AIM:APTA) CEO Dr Arron Tolley talked with Proactive about recent announcements that highlight significant progress in their targeted drug delivery solutions.
Tolley explained that Aptamer Group's focus on precision medicine aims to tackle the challenges of systemic drug administration, offering targeted solutions to improve patient care and reduce side effects.
Proactive: Aaron, very good to speak with you. Could you start by telling us why yesterday's announcement is big news for Aptamer Group?
Arron Tolley: Thank you. Yeah. It's a big announcement really because targeted drug delivery is a huge problem. It's a huge and growing market. Lots of big pharmaceutical companies are evaluating ways to specifically deliver drugs to diseased tissues, and doing that is critical to improve patient care and reduce side effects.
The problem with most medicines is that they're required to be systemically administered, which basically means injecting them or having the molecules travel all over the body.
But for them to be functional, they require targeting to the site of action in the body and then into specific cells to have their effect. This has been a major stumbling block for many genetic medicines, which is where this project is focused.
Over the last several years, we have focused on building a platform that can be used to address site-specific delivery. Yesterday's announcement really shows how our Optimer delivery vehicles are developing to help the market overcome these issues.
Proactive: So what are the specifics of this project, Aaron?
Arron Tolley: Specifically, we're working with a US-based biopharmaceutical partner. We've developed a delivery vehicle that's specific to a single cell type within the body to deliver their medicine. We recently obtained data showing it was functional in-house and passed these molecules to the customer.
The customer repeated the work in their own labs and confirmed the functionality. Excitingly, the customers also showed that the Optimer is compatible with multiple species, which will help accelerate clinical development. Now, the customer is keen to move forward to the final commercial development stages for a functional delivery vehicle.
Proactive: Why is this an important validation of your platform, Aaron?
Arron Tolley: It's important because it ties into our internal siRNA fibrotic liver delivery project and our recent collaboration with AstraZeneca. This serves as a second proof of concept for our platform being suitable for drug delivery.
Proactive: What are the next stages if successful, and how does this translate into value for Aptamer Group?
Arron Tolley: We have a few more development stages to optimise the product for the customer. This will be done over the next few months before handing over a refined version of the molecule.
The value will come from access to the intellectual property for commercial use. As the precision medicine progresses through development milestones in pre-clinical stages, Aptamer will generate value via commercial milestones through a licensing agreement.
Proactive: Has the customer paid you for the development of the Optimer to date?
Arron Tolley: Yes. This development started from a commercial project signed in December 2023 with the US-based company. They have funded all the development work so far and will continue funding the next stages before we hand over the final product.
Proactive: Regarding this week's commercial updates, it’s encouraging to see deals being signed. Is the pipeline continuing to grow, and do you expect more deals to close soon?
Arron Tolley: Absolutely. The two announcements this week are really exciting. Our pipeline continues to grow as we move more leads through qualification and negotiation to closing. We're attracting commercial opportunities, which can be complex and time-consuming to negotiate.
However, the recent announcements are encouraging, showcasing the traction we've gained. We are confident that some of these late-stage negotiations will close in the coming months. We're also working hard to convert as much of the pipeline as possible while retaining intellectual property to maximize shareholder value.