ReNeuron Group to collaborate with unnamed US biopharmaceutical firm

Cell-based therapeutics developer ReNeuron Group has signed a collaboration agreement with an unnamed US-based biopharmaceutical company to explore the use of its exosome technology platform as a potential delivery vehicle for synthetic oligonucleotides used in gene therapy, it announced on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said that as part of the collaboration, it would use its proprietary exosomes as well as its “sequence-based know-how”, and the US-based biopharmaceutical company would provide its expertise in the field of synthetic oligonucleotides to optimise their loading into exosomes.

If the initial feasibility stage of the collaboration was successful, candidates with suitable pharmaceutical properties would be taken into the next part of the collaboration, which would evaluate pre-clinical safety and potential efficacy.

During the initial feasibility stage there would be no cash payments between the parties.

On successful completion of the feasibility stage, it was anticipated that a product cross-licensing agreement would be signed by the parties ahead of the pre-clinical and clinical development of the therapeutic candidates.

“Exosomes are biological nanoparticles ideally suited to the delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics due to their natural occurrence and abundance, their ability to protect their cargo from degradation and their potential for favourable bio-distribution,” said ReNeuron chief executive officer Olav Hellebø.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with a biopharmaceutical company that has considerable experience in the development of novel oligonucleotide-based therapeutics.”