AdAlta Ltd (ASX:1AD) has altered the sequence of manufacturing campaigns and toxicology studies for its main i-body platform, AD-214, in order to better align them with the priorities of potential partners and take advantage of data from a pre-clinical study of AD-214 in eye fibrosis, expected in the third quarter of this year.
The company secured a six-month deferral of pre-booked manufacturing campaigns and toxicology studies, ensuring it can delay fulfilling the financial commitments for these studies and extend its cash runway.
AdAlta’s work in developing an inhaled version of AD-214 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is also progressing well, with preclinical studies emphasising its ability to reach and affect the smallest airways of the lungs.
Range of potential partners "highly encouraging"
“We are highly encouraged by the range of potential partners for AD-214, including new and confirmed existing interest generated at the BIO2022 conference held in San Diego last month and several who have signed confidentiality agreements to access additional data,” AdAlta managing director and CEO Dr Tim Oldham said.
“Meeting their varied interests could require different manufacturing and toxicology campaigns with different associated costs to those we originally had planned.
“By the end of the September quarter 2022, we also anticipate having significant new pre-clinical data in multiple indications and routes of administration for AD-214.
“While we have been focused on speed to clinical trials, it is now prudent that we make final decisions about incurring the significant costs of manufacturing and toxicology with the fullest possible data and partnering information in hand, and to that end have negotiated a deferral of the commencement of these campaigns with our suppliers.”
The increased interest in AD-214 follows a peer-reviewed publication of pre-clinical data which demonstrated the protective effect of AD-214 in a mouse model of kidney fibrosis.