ReNeuron Group PLC (AIM:RENE) chief executive Olav Hellebø said he thought the company was in ‘the right place, at the right time’ with its exosomes technology as he predicted the cell specialist would increase the number of partnerships it has in this field.
Dubbed ‘cellular couriers’, exosomes can be engineered to deliver therapeutic payloads to the brain.
ReNeuron now has seven collaborations with unnamed global pharma and biotech groups as well as academic institutions. It expects to agree further tie-ups in the next 12 months, investors were told.
Pre-clinical data, meanwhile, indicate its technology can "effectively deliver therapeutic proteins to the brain to potentially treat neurological diseases".
“We feel we are in the right place, at the right time, with the right technology to be a leader in exosomes and look forward to providing further updates on our progress as the excitement in this area continues to grow," said CEO Hellebø.
He was speaking following the publication of interim results, which also charted the significant progress for the group over the last six months.
Its human retinal progenitor cells programme for eye disease is back on track following the restart of its phase IIa extension study in October. The early read-out from the trial is expected in the first half of next year.
ReNeuron invested heavily in R&D in the six months ended September 30. Even so, its costs came down, meaning its loss for the period dropped to £5.2mln from £7.1mln.
Crucially, the group was sitting on cash of £17.4mln as at the period-end.