Allied Minds PLC SciFluor Life Sciences Awarded U.S. Patent
December 04 2014 - 2:01AM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMALM
Allied Minds PLC
04 December 2014
For immediate release
SciFluor Life Sciences Awarded U.S. Patent for Integrin
<ALPHA>v<BETA>3 Inhibitors Designed for the Topical
Treatment of Retinal Disease
-- Patent-protected topical integrin antagonist could
potentially revolutionize retinal disease therapy.
-- Addressable markets include wet Age-related Macular
Degeneration (AMD) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME).
-- Issuance of first patent validates SciFluor's innovative
approach to small molecule drug discovery by the strategic
incorporation of fluorine.
Cambridge, Mass. (Dec. 4, 2014) - SciFluor Life Sciences, LLC,
an emerging clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that creates
innovative therapeutics for patients with ophthalmologic and
neurologic disease, announced today that the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 8,901,144 with
claims covering the novel compound SF0166. SciFluor's SF0166 is a
small molecule integrin antagonist designed to treat retinal
disease, including Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME), via topical administration to the
eye.
Topical administration of medications (eye drops) for treating
the retina in order to eliminate the need to inject compounds to
the back of the eye has been considered an enormous challenge until
now. Current treatments require repeated injections into the back
of the eye in order to get enough of the drug where it is needed. A
drug that could localize in the back of the eye after
administration as an eye drop would remove the need for repeated
injections. To date, no topically administered drug has been
approved for these indications.
Ben Askew, PhD, Vice President of Research, said, "The issuance
of the patent covering SF0166 provides validation of our
fluorine-centered approach to rapidly bringing new transformational
therapies to patients with serious illnesses. SF0166 demonstrates
how the appropriate fluorine-containing modifications can improve
the physical properties of a molecule to address the challenge of
getting enough drug to the back of the eye without injections."
Dr. Askew is the lead on the SF0166 therapeutic program, which
is targeted to treat both wet Age-related Macular Degeneration
(AMD) as well as Diabetic Macular Edema (DME).
"The scientific depth of this team and the team's ability to
rapidly evolve this candidate and to obtain an issued patent
protecting this lead compound in such an enormous field of retinal
disease is highly impressive. We are excited to advance this
program. This is the first of many opportunities at SciFluor that
we are pursuing to strategically capitalize on the transformational
power of fluorine," said Omar Amirana, MD, SciFluor's Chief
Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at Allied Minds.
SciFluor is a subsidiary of Allied Minds (LSE: ALM), an
innovative U.S. science and technology development and
commercialization company.
About SF0166
SciFluor is developing SF0166, a potent and selective small
molecule inhibitor of integrin <ALPHA>v<BETA>3 with an
optimum balance of physiochemical properties to allow it to
distribute to the retina in high concentrations after topical
administration to the eye. It has been tested in an extensive set
of pre-clinical assays and shown to be effective in a validated in
vivo model of wet AMD. The non-fluorinated compound on which it is
based does not distribute appreciably to the back of the eye after
topical administration.
About AMD
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause
of severe vision loss in older Americans. It affects central vision
and may interfere with daily tasks such as reading and driving.
Macular degeneration affects the retina in two forms - dry and wet
AMD, also called neovascular AMD. Wet AMD is frequently accompanied
by relatively sudden loss of vision. This is caused by the growth
of abnormal blood vessels underneath the retina that leak fluid or
blood. Recent advances in the treatment of wet AMD can now prevent
further loss of vision, or even restore vision in some cases, if
treatment is sought promptly. These treatments require frequent
injections of biologic drugs into the back of the eye performed in
a doctor's office. Generally, the effectiveness of these treatments
decreases with time, therefore improved treatments are actively
being sought. A topically administered drug that is safe and
effective would be a major advance in patient care.
About SciFluor Life Sciences LLC
SciFluor Life Sciences is a drug discovery company applying
expertise in fluorine chemistry to create a portfolio of
differentiated best-in-class therapeutics. The company creates new
chemical entities (NCEs) directed towards precedented biological
targets. SciFluor strategically incorporates fluorine or
fluorine-containing groups to design drugs with improved
pharmacological profiles that provide important benefits over
existing therapies such as improved safety, efficacy, more
convenient dosing and better patient compliance. This
capital-efficient and de-risked drug discovery approach has
resulted in the generation of a proprietary pipeline of novel and
differentiated small molecule drugs across a range of therapeutic
categories and disease areas including retinal disease, CNS
disorders, and inflammatory disease.
About Allied Minds
Allied Minds (LSE: ALM) is an innovative U.S. science and
technology development and commercialization company. Operating
since 2006, Allied Minds forms, funds, manages and builds products
and businesses based on innovative technologies developed at
leading U.S. universities and federal research institutions. Allied
Minds serves as a diversified holding company that supports its
businesses and product development with capital, central management
and shared services. More information about the Boston-based
company can be found at www.alliedminds.com.
Allied Minds Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the
company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risk and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in the company's regulatory filings. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and
future business strategies of the company and the environment in
which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement
speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as
required by law, regulatory requirement, the Prospectus Rules, the
Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, neither
the company nor any other party intends to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Media Contact:
Christine Dunn
ArcPoint Strategic Communications
617.484.1660 x101
cdunn@arcpointstrategy.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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