Lyon, October 22, 2012 - Adocia (NYSE Euronext Paris: FR0011184241 - ADOC), a biotech company specialized in the formulation of therapeutic proteins for the treatment of diabetes and chronic wounds, announces today that it has filed another three patent applications covering new formulations of monoclonal antibodies.
More specifically, these patent applications relate to original formulations that facilitate the subcutaneous administration of antibodies, as well as innovative formulations that reduce antibody aggregation.
Monoclonal antibodies are therapeutic proteins that are effective in treating numerous chronic diseases: cancer, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. At present, these proteins are mostly administered intravenously.
Subcutaneous administration is now the preferred method as it makes patients’ lives easier and reduces the costs of treatment. This mode of administration, however, requires a highly-concentrated formulation of monoclonal antibodies. These have a high viscosity and create problems when it comes to administration with subcutaneous injection systems.
Two of the patent applications filed by Adocia relate to innovative formulations that efficiently reduce the viscosity of concentrated antibody solutions.
In a third application, Adocia is seeking patent protection for a new, simple and effective means of reducing antibody aggregation in both concentrated and diluted solutions. The regulatory authorities in the United States (FDA) and Europe (EMA) are more demanding, since these aggregates can be immunogenic and can result in the treatment being halted.
“We have clearly identified the specific problems that these proteins pose for the pharmaceutical industry,” said Olivier Soula, Adocia’s research director. “We think our innovative formulations provide effective, low-cost solutions to these problems. We are currently presenting the new formulations to a large number of pharmaceutical companies, who are showing considerable interest in them.”
Adocia is already involved in two collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies and intends to enter into more.
“Adocia is continuing to innovate in major pharmaceutical industry applications,” said the company’s president and CEO, Gerard Soula. “The monoclonal antibody market represents a major opportunity for us, since it was worth USD 45 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach USD 58 billion in 2016.”
“Innovative medicine for everyone, everywhere”
Adocia is a biotech company specialized in the development of best-in-class drugs from the innovative formulation of certain already-approved therapeutic proteins.
Adocia is specialized in insulin therapy and the treatment of the diabetic foot, one of the main complications of diabetes. Worldwide, more than 366 million individuals are currently suffering from diabetes (with a forecast of 552 million individuals by 2030, i.e. a 51 per cent increase, reaching 70 per cent in emerging countries). 15 per cent of these patients will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime. The markets targeted by Adocia represent more than USD 20 billion (USD 17 billion for insulin therapy and USD 3 billion for diabetic foot ulcer healing).
Through its BioChaperone(R) state-of-the-art technological platform, Adocia intends to enhance the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic proteins and their ease of use for patients, with the aim of making these medicines accessible to the broadest public.
Adocia successfully completed two phases I and II studies on the formulation of a fast-acting human insulin and obtained promising phase I/II results on a diabetic foot ulcer healing product. Adocia also confirmed the value of its technology for the formulation of a fast-acting insulin analog by signing an exclusive worldwide license agreement with a major pharmaceutical company. Furthermore, Adocia is developing a unique combination of fast-acting insulin and slow-acting insulin for an optimal insulin therapy with one single product.
To be a global leader for the formulation of therapeutic proteins
Based on its experience and recognized know-how, Adocia has extended its activities to the formulation of monoclonal antibodies, which are gold standard molecules for the treatment of numerous chronic pathologies (oncology, inflammation, etc.). In this field, Adocia is engaged in collaborative programs with two major pharmaceutical companies.
Adocia’s therapeutic innovations aim at bringing solutions to a profoundly changing global pharmaceutical and economic context, characterized in particular by the increased prevalence and impact of the targeted pathologies, population growth and ageing, the need to control public health expenditures and increasing demand from emerging countries.
Adocia is listed on the regulated market of NYSE Euronext in Paris (ISIN: FR0011184241, mnemo / Reuters / Bloomberg: ADOC, ADOC.PA, ADOC.FP) and its share included in the Next Biotech index.
For more information: http://www.adocia.com
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