Biotechnology company Argenica Therapeutics, which is developing novel treatments to reduce brain tissue death following types of brain injury such as stroke, has been awarded a grant to develop a non-invasive way to administer the novel drug ARG-007.
The $419,000 in funding under the WA Government’s Innovation Seed Fund Program will support research aiming to develop a new formulation of the drug that is suitable for use in an alternative therapeutic delivery route, making it more acceptable in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The novel neuroprotective drug ARG-007, currently undergoing clinical trials for stroke, is from the laboratory of Argenica’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Bruno Meloni (UWA and Head of Stroke Laboratory Research at the Perron Institute).
“We see value in having multiple ways the drug can be administered,” Professor Meloni said.
“For acute conditions such as stroke, intravenous formulations are ideal and this is the delivery method we are using in clinical trials for stroke.
“For people with chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease or concussion, therapies that are easy to administer personally or by a health care professional are generally preferred.
“This may be as a tablet, nasal spray or an EpiPen-style, depending on the condition being treated.”
“Typically, each administration method will require a different formulation of a drug to maximise its efficacy,” said Argenica Therapeutics’ Founding Director and project Innovation Lead, Dr Samantha South.
“Argenica’s next steps involve developing a new route of delivery of our candidate drug ARG-007 and optimising its dose in a preclinical Alzheimer’s disease model to determine efficacy.”
Argenica CEO and Managing Director, Dr Liz Dallimore said: “It is fantastic that the Western Australian Government is supporting this innovative project. We are very grateful for this support.
“If Argenica is successful in developing this new administration route for ARG-007, it will allow the company to commercialise a new drug asset for chronic neurological conditions.”
This grant was part of an announcement of $4.3 million in seed funding (for nine projects) made by the Hon Stephen Dawson, Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Science; Medical Research recently.