ImmuPharma PLC (AIM:IMM, OTC:IMMPF) said it remains on track to deliver the results from a pharmacokinetic study of its lead asset Lupuzor (also known as P140) in the first quarter of next year.
Researchers will quickly assess how the drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolised and excreted.
Work gets underway next month and is a prelude to a phase III clinical evaluation of the lupus treatment.
In a progress report, ImmuPharma also said it had developed a new more cost-effective and efficient method of synthesising P140 that provides greater protection over its discovery.
P140 is also being trialled for use in people with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which is a rare neurological disorder.
A phase II/III clinical study is slated to get underway next year and it is expected the drug will be given orphan drug designation for this indication, which provides certain marketing benefits for products that address an unmet medical need.
Interestingly, ImmuPharma said commercial partnering discussions were ‘ongoing’ for this adaptation of its lead asset.
It added that it is strengthening its relationship with France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Professor Sylviane Muller, the inventor of P140, to exploit further opportunities from what is now proving to be platform technology rather than a single treatment.
"Myself and the team at the CNRS have been working, over many years, on a number of projects associated with the P140 mechanism of action and as such, are convinced of the enormous potential of the P140 platform and its diverse role within the whole spectrum of autoimmunity and inflammation,” said Muller.
Finally, ImmuPharma said BioAMB, the group’s most advanced anti-infective candidate, delivered ‘excellent’ preclinical results with further updates expected in the first half of next year. Again, it said partnering discussions are ‘ongoing’.
"The evolvement and transition of ImmuPharma over the last few months can probably be summed up as one of the most challenging and yet exciting periods in its history,” said chief executive, Tim McCarthy.
“An enormous amount of collaborative teamwork has been involved to achieve the vastly improved position we have presented today.”