Noxopharm in-licenses novel RNA tech for drug discovery and vaccines
Pharmorage will first target mRNA vaccines: eying up a market expected to reach $23bn USD by 2035.
One of its goals will be to target unwanted side-effects: such as fatigue, headaches, chills and injection-site pain: which are related to the body recognizing mRNA therapeutics through the immune sensor Toll-like Receptor 7 (TLR7). Melbourne's Hudson Institute, however, has discovered a new class of TLR7 inhibitors that can outcompete immune sensing of RNA, potentially being used to limit side effects.
The company will also focus on advancing lead RNA drugs from Hudson as treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. These RNA drugs target the root of the inflammatory response — key immune sensors.
Pharmorage has experience in this area, evidenced by their work on the development of a first-in-class tank-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) inhibitor, to be used in similar conditions.
Noxopharm CEO and managing director, Graham Kelly, said: “Pharmorage already had a strong business relationship with Hudson with a major initiative in anti-inflammatory drug development. The RNA technology and its anti-inflammatory functions is an obvious fit, and with mRNA vaccine technology looking increasingly likely to extend eventually to most if not all viral diseases, this is an extraordinarily timely development.”
Noxopharm has previous experience in developing anti-inflammatory therapeutics, with its lead drug candidate Veyonda in Phase 2 trials.
