(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aptorum Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) ("Aptorum Group"), a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel
therapeutics for unmet needs including but not limited to infectious,
orphan and metabolic disease areas, today announced that it is
initiating an additional research and development project targeting the
coronavirus group and has completed initial screening under the
Smart-ACT™ platform, a repurposed and new drug discovery platform, to
select, out of more than 2,600 approved small drug molecules, at least 3
potential candidates for further preclinical investigation against the
new coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Aptorum Group is collaborating with
Toronto based Covar Pharmaceuticals and has also entered into agreement
with the University of Hong Kong’s Microbiology Department to conduct
further preclinical investigation of the selected candidates prior to
seeking approval from regulatory agencies to initiate clinical trials on
suitable candidates.
In
particular, Aptorum Group will focus on investigation of at least three
small molecule drugs (collectively “SACT-COV19”), that have shown
potential interference against two enzyme targets, namely, 3CL-Protease
and RNA dependent RNA Polymerase (“RDRP”), with both playing pivotal
roles in COVID-19’s replication cycle. Specifically, 3CL-Protease is
believed to mediate viral replication and transcription functions
through extensive proteolytic processing, while RDRP is an enzyme that
is believed to catalyze the replication of viral RNA from its RNA
template. These selected candidates will undergo further preclinical
assessment on efficacy against COVID-19. Aptorum Group has filed patent
applications on the above candidates.
For
the ongoing investigation and preclinical work, Aptorum Group is
collaborating with Toronto based Covar Pharmaceuticals and also Aptorum
Group has contracted with the University of Hong Kong to conduct this
work. Covar Pharmaceutical’s team (comprised of professionals previously
from Patheon and Glaxo Wellcome)1 is highly experienced in
drug discovery and development supported by its GMP manufacturing
facility. The University of Hong Kong’s Microbiology team was
instrumental in the discovery of SARS virus during the 2003 epidemic2,
as well as currently being actively involved, in their own respective
research interests, in developing vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus3 and COVID-19 related monitoring physical device with other third parties4.
Aptorum
Group will also seek additional collaborators globally for driving its
development of SACT-COV19 initiatives forward and welcomes interested
parties to contact us to discuss collaboration opportunities.
Aptorum
Group, as part of its existing pipeline, is also developing a number of
infectious disease indications under its Acticule platform, including,
but not limited to, a unique antiviral small molecule candidate (ALS-1)
against Influenza virus and also, as its lead program, an anti-virulent,
non-bactericidal small molecule candidate (ALS-4) against
Staphylococcus aureus infections, amongst other projects, for which
Covar Pharmaceuticals is also currently supporting its development in
North America.
Mr.
Ian Huen, Chief Executive Officer of Aptorum Group said, “COVID-19
disease is highly contagious and has spread across the world causing
significant disruptions and casualties in the process. The confirmed
cases globally have exceeded 700,000 as of today’s date5 and
the World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 as a pandemic.
Despite a growing number of both established and early stage
pharmaceutical companies rushing to develop vaccine based therapies for
COVID-19, we believe there is a need to tackle this disease
multi-dimensionally and urgently. In order to accelerate development,
our aim is to identify candidates from already approved drugs, that have
established safety, toxicity and pharmacokinetic clinical profiles, to
be repurposed for treatment of COVID-19. In addition, due to the ongoing
mutation and evolution of this coronavirus, we cannot rule out that
there may be further strains of this coronavirus emerging in the near
future and therefore, the world must be prepared to deal with such
challenges swiftly and collectively in order to minimize casualties and
economic loss. We believe that Aptorum Group’s Smart-ACT™ platform in
conjunction with our existing Acticule infectious disease development
capabilities and as supported by Covar Pharmaceuticals, is
well-positioned to develop potential solutions and to deliver our share
of contribution to the world on this disease as well as others.”
About Smart-ACT™ Platform
The
Smart-ACT™ platform is a proprietary systematic process combining both
computational approach and wet laboratory validation under which Aptorum
Group constantly screens over 2,600 approved small molecule drugs in
order to identify candidates that can be repurposed for selected orphan
or unmet diseases. The overall strategic aim is to significantly shorten
R&D costs and the timeline to effectively deliver patentable
repurposed drug candidates into clinical trials and efficiently achieve
eventual market commercialization.
About Aptorum Group Limited
Aptorum
Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to
developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to tackle unmet
medical needs. Aptorum Group's current drug pipeline include indications
in orphan diseases, infectious diseases and metabolic diseases and a
number of which are targeted to enter clinical trial phases in 2020.
Aptorum Group’s Dioscorea Opposita Bioactive Nutraceutical Tablets,
which is a dietary supplement for women’s health during menopause and
post-menopause cycles, are currently being commercialized.
For more information about Aptorum Group, please visit www.aptorumgroup.com.
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release includes statements concerning Aptorum Group Limited and
its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any
statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact
may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "should,"
"expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target,"
"projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts,"
"potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms or other
similar expressions. Aptorum Group has based these forward-looking
statements, which include statements regarding projected timelines for
application submissions and trials, largely on its current expectations
and projections about future events and trends that it believes may
affect its business, financial condition and results of operations.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions including, without limitation, risks related to its
announced management and organizational changes, the continued service
and availability of key personnel, its ability to expand its product
assortments by offering additional products for additional consumer
segments, development results, the company’s anticipated growth
strategies, anticipated trends and challenges in its business, and its
expectations regarding, and the stability of, its supply chain, and the
risks more fully described in Aptorum Group’s Form 20-F and other
filings that Aptorum Group may make with the SEC in the future. As a
result, the projections included in such forward-looking statements are
subject to change. Aptorum Group assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200330005263/en/
Contacts
Investors:
Tel: +852 2117 6611
Email: investor.relations@aptorumgroup.com
Media:
Tel: + 852 2117 6611
Email: info@aptorumgroup.com
No comments:
Post a Comment