Aberystwyth, UK, 21 November 2005 - MNLpharma Ltd, which is developing next-generation glycotherapeutics, today announced that it has won a major grant award to develop its immune modulator drug, MNLP 462a, for cancer therapy.  The Welsh Development Agency (WDA) granted the award for £709K (€1 million) as part of the SMARTCymru scheme, the primary method of funding the research, development and exploitation of technologically innovative products and processes in Wales.  The award is the highest ever made under SMARTCymru to a drug development project in Wales. It is also the highest made to any company in Mid Wales.

 

Hadyn Parry, CEO of MNLpharma, commented, “MNLpharma has discovered an approach for the treatment and prevention of cancer that stimulates the body’s own immune system to recognise and destroy cancerous cells.  MNLP 462a, an imino sugar, is being developed to be taken orally as a tablet and will be a novel, non-toxic cancer immunotherapy suitable for use in combination with existing cancer drugs or as a stand-alone therapy.  By significantly boosting patient’s immune systems, MNLP 462a is capable of treating multiple forms of cancer, unlike most cancer drugs in development.”

 

“These are still early days in the development of MNLP 462a, but the funds from the WDA will enable MNLpharma to conduct the preclinical development phase that will include dose optimisation, manufacture and safety testing.  Once this research is complete we will have the necessary data to secure regulatory clearance for testing in man.  We expect that clinical trials, in cancer patients, will commence late 2006 or early 2007.”

 

Sarah Pryor, head of the SMARTCymru team said, “The SMARTCymru scheme aims to promote the development and exploitation of exciting technological innovation in Wales. Cancer is one of the main healthcare challenges of this century.  Through its development of a novel immune acting drug, MNLpharma could make a major contribution to programmes to treat cancer in patients across the world.  This project is one that the WDA has been supporting for several years and, after extensive scientific and commercial reviews, we are delighted to be able to make a major contribution to the next phase of its development.  It is an excellent example of Welsh technical innovation.”

 

The grant award has been made after two years of preclinical discovery research at MNLpharma in Aberystwyth and involves leading academic collaborators in immunotherapy, synthetic chemistry and cancer across the UK and Europe. MNLpharma is privately funded and the grant income will significantly contribute to the project costs over the next eighteen months.

 

MNLpharma has major discovery programmes in the areas of immunomodulation and anti-infectives. Its research is focused on the novel immunopotentiation properties of imino sugars, naturally occurring compounds found in minute quantities in certain plants.

 

-ENDS-

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Northbank Communications

Adam Michael / Katja Stout

T: +44 (0)20 7886 8150

a.michael@northbankcommunications.com

 

MNLpharma

Hadyn Parry, CEO

T: +44 (0)1970 823201

hadyn.parry@mnlpharma.com

 

Notes to Editors:

About MNLpharma

MNLpharma (‘MNL’) is a private UK (Welsh) drug discovery and development company exploiting imino sugar therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of disease.  The company’s in-house programmes focus on cancer, vaccine adjuvants and infectious diseases.  MNLpharma has major discovery programmes in the areas of immunomodulation and direct acting antivirals with a number of compounds showing promise against several key viral pathogens where effective treatments are currently lacking.

MNLpharma has a unique profile that combines glycochemistry and immunology and is focused on the identification and optimisation of the next generation of imino sugars.  The company’s lead project is an anticancer immunomodulator, which is also expected to be an effective therapeutic in a range of viral diseases.

About Imino Sugars

Imino sugars are naturally occurring simple small molecules that are analogues of natural sugars.  Imino sugars have shown therapeutic potential as drugs for a number of medical uses (the marketed drugs Zavesca® and Glyset® are imino sugars, for example) but their development has been hampered by the challenges in identification and isolation resulting in very few being available for study as potential pharmaceuticals.

 

MNLpharma has overcome the difficulties associated with their discovery and has developed a proprietary portfolio of such compounds.  MNL holds the majority of imino sugars discovered since 1985.  The company is therefore developing an array of imino sugar therapeutics that includes immunomodulators for applications in cancer and immune related disorders and glycosidase inhibitors, which have high enzyme specificity for applications such as anti-virals.

 

MNLpharma has discovered that certain imino sugars are able to stimulate the immune system. This property is not related to the enzyme activity for which the class of compounds is best known.  MNL had previously demonstrated the ability of these molecules to stimulate dendritic cells to produce IL-12 and IL-2; key cytokines for efficacious cancer immunotherapy and have also successfully demonstrated in vivo anticancer efficacy.  The profile of MNLpharma’s immune stimulating compounds suggests that they have potential in treating a wide range of diseases.