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Absynth is developing vaccines and antibodies to prevent and treat bacterial infections with a distinctive technology platform for identifying proprietary antigens that harness the immune system more effectively than other antigens, to stimulate a host protective response. Antimicrobial resistance constitutes a serious danger to public health, which has been acknowledged by the USA Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Bacterial vaccines have the potential to reduce community reliance on antibiotics and there is evidence that vaccines can contribute to decreased antibiotic usage. 

Absynth has used its technology platform to establish a vaccine pipeline targeting pathogens for substantial markets, in which no marketed vaccines exist. The most advanced vaccine programme targets Staphylococcus aureus, while pipeline vaccine programmes target Clostridium difficile and Streptococcus pyogenes. The Company also has a S. aureus antibody programme in preclinical research. The Company’s approach has the potential to overcome previous limitations through its novel antigens, as well as its innovative approach to using in vivo models and correlates of infection for candidate optimization and selection. Six patent families are filed from which eleven patents have granted.

Appleyard Lees is a highly respected and leading firm of European Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.

They have an experienced life science and chemical team and an enviable reputation of working with some of the most innovative organisations in the UK and around the world.  Acting for a range of clients, including well-known multinational corporations, Universities and SMEs, they have earned a reputation for not only handling complex technical subject matter, but also providing clear and strategic advice.

Appleyard Lees have offices throughout the UK and also in Munich and The Hague.  They are listed in Chambers UK, the Legal500 and Managing IP ‘IP Stars’.

Autifony Therapeutics is developing pharmaceutical treatments for hearing disorders, which affect a significant proportion of the population. Autifony‘s approach is focused on Kv3 potassium channel modulation, a novel mechanism of action. These ion channels regulate neuronal activity within the auditory system, and our new drugs aim to treat age related hearing loss and tinnitus. The lead programme has completed Phase I clinical trials and is about to start two Phase IIa studies – for age related hearing loss in the US, and for tinnitus in the UK (supported by funding from the Technology Strategy Board).

Given Autifony’s focus on modulation of Kv3 channels, which have also been implicated in other neurological and psychiatric disorders, there are opportunities for Autifony to investigate these other indications with compounds with different profiles. Autifony was awarded Technology Strategy Board funding to progress the development of a candidate drug for the treatment of schizophrenia, working together with academic collaborators at the Universities of Manchester and Newcastle.

Autifony Therapeutics Limited was formed in 2011 as a spin-out from GSK. The company is privately funded by leading venture capital investors SV Life Sciences, Imperial Innovations and Pfizer Venture Investments. Autifony’s head office is at the Imperial College Incubator in London, and has a subsidiary with medicinal chemistry and biology labs based in Verona, Italy.

Critical Pharmaceuticals is a privately funded clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing improved versions of marketed biologic drugs using it’s patented drug delivery platform technologies.

The company’s lead products are an intranasal human growth hormone product, targeted at a $3.1bn market, and CP046 intranasal teriparatide product for the treatment of osteoporosis, a $1.2bn market. The development pathway for both programs is clear and low risk as it involves drugs with well established efficacy and toxicity, and previous exposure to man in a successful Phase I clinical trials.

Critical Pharmaceuticals patented CriticalMix™ and CriticalSorb™ technology platforms are applicable to the large and fast growing market of biological drugs. The technology has been validated in collaboration with other biopharmaceutical companies with two partner programs poised to enter clinical development.

The products and platform technology has extensive IP protection, including granted US patents.

KWS BioTest is an established contract research organization providing a wide range of drug discovery services spanning preclinical development from early cell biology, through efficacy models to clinical sample analysis.

KWS BioTest provides clients with a powerful combination of world-leading scientific expertise coupled with the latest methods and technologies to ensure the highest levels of quality and service at all times.  We specialise in the areas of immunology, inflammation and infection and work closely with our clients in the testing of their novel small molecules, biologics and ADCs as treatments for human disease, including specific experience across global vaccine development initiatives.  We can generate data to support all stages of compound and molecule development to maximise the chance of successful progression to each important project milestone. 

Our dedicated solutions for our clients often feature bespoke study designs, allowing them to benefit from our extensive experience across both therapeutic areas and molecule classes. Our team of expert scientists can provide support for both individual studies and as part of larger projects as a virtual extension of our clients’ laboratory capabilities.  We can assist in the interpretation of complex programs of work in target validation, lead optimisation, candidate selection, discovery support and clinical sample analysis, increasing the chance of molecules succeeding and helping bring them to the clinic faster.

Established in 1989, the BIA (BioIndustry Association) exists to encourage and promote a financially sound and thriving bioscience sector within the UK economy and concentrates its efforts on emerging enterprise and the related interests of companies with whom such enterprise trades.

With a wide range of members, the BIA supports a wide range of sectors, majoring on the human health benefits of the technology and represents the interests of these innovative companies to a broad section of stakeholders from patient groups to politicians, advancing its members interests both within the UK and internationally to create a healthy UK bioscience sector which benefits society.

Source: Partnering360 (29/10/2014)