Borean Pharma Acquires Proteopharma and Promising Arterial Drug

20-Feb-2004

Aarhus, Demark. Borean Pharma A/S announced that it has acquired the Aarhus based biotech company Proteopharma, which holds patents for a protein that may reduce arterial cholesterol plaque and prevent blood clots, one of the Western world's leading causes of death. Deal terms were not disclosed.

"This acquisition of Proteopharma is very logical for Borean because of the two companies' complimentary technologies and the unique arterial drug that is in development," said Dr. Riku Rautsola, Borean Pharma's CEO. "Borean holds patents for the technology that Proteopharma used in the development of this novel product candidate, so Borean now owns all the intellectual property associated with the product; and given the unique nature of this product and its unlimited potential, we are currently discussing potential collaborations with the five leading pharmaceutical companies."

Remedy for Hardening of the Arteries

Proteopharma is the leader in the development of improved versions of the naturally occurring Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), which is the major protein component of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) or the so-called "good cholesterol" that keeps arteries from accumulating brittle plaque that eventually may cause thrombosis. Plasma levels of HDL and ApoA-I have also been found to be inversely correlated with the incidence of atherosclerosis. Recently, a clinical phase II study showed that a dimerised derivative of Apolipoprotein A-I, ApoA-I Milano, reduced the fatty arterial plaque that triggers most heart attacks by an average of 4.2%, which is about 10 times better than statins, the most effective drugs currently on the market.

Proteopharma has, in collaboration with Borean Pharma, developed a trimerised ApoA-I protein, which is a single protein carrying three Apolipoprotein A-I entities. The trimerised ApoA-l protein has a three-fold increased plasma half-life as compared to the naturally occurring monomeric version of ApoA-I and has also been shown to reduce plaque size in mice arteries more effectively than the naturally occurring monomeric form of ApoA-I.

"I am extremely pleased that the two companies have joined forces. With a patient population suffering from acute coronary syndrome that is estimated to be 2.3 million people in the western world alone, the trimerised ApoA-I protein has the potential to become one of the leading pharmaceutical compounds in the battle against atherosclerosis. As the trimerised ApoA-I has been constructed by the use of Borean Pharma's proprietary trimerisation module, this drug candidate fits perfectly into our overall business strategy and we look forward to beginning human clinical trials with this drug in the near future," said Dr. Riku Rautsola.

Dr. Soren Moestrup, the founder of Proteopharma and professor in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Aarhus added, "Proteopharma's focus has been on early drug development, so joining forces at this stage will speed up the development process of this drug in the next phases. Furthermore, we are very knowledgeable about the drug discovery process, which will allow us to complement the technology platform of Borean Pharma."

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/35625/borean-pharma-acquires-proteopharma-and-promising-arterial-drug.html