Overview
AparnaBio has a growing therapeutic and vaccine pipeline developed in large part from our proprietary NanoElectroPlexTM technology platform. This uniquely effective nanotechnology platform is an advanced system for preparing in vivo active tissue targeted nanoparticles, and has been extended to develop a synthetic Virus-Like Particle (sVLP™) vaccine nanoparticle technology. It is based on versatile biodegradable macromolecules that address the critical need for nanoparticle “tuning” to match the physical chemistry of therapeutic agents, and the difficult task of drug combinations. AparnaBio also has innovative tissue targeting capabilities, including a revolutionary method for antibody ligands addressing a long-standing need for oriented attachment to insure proper display of the antigen binding domain. AparnaBio’s powerful platform technologies offer broad product development capabilities attractive for research collaborations and therapeutic development partnerships. Therapeutic partnership opportunities span a wide range including tissue targeted delivery of macromolecules and simultaneous delivery of imaging agents. AparnaBio approaches partnerships with an objective to structure agreements that insure mutual benefit, i.e. win-win. We also appreciate the importance of allocating each aspect of a project according to capabilities, thereby optimizing development in terms of costs and timeline to product approval and commercialization.
Invasive Fungal Infection Imaging and Therapy
AparnaBio has developed early stage therapeutic candidates attractive as a promising major advance for treatment of life-threatening invasive candidiasis and other invasive fungal infections. These therapeutic candidates combine infection site targeting with inhibition of novel therapeutic targets.
AB-174 is a lead candidate based on a breakthrough (by our collaborator) developing analogues of natural histatin salivary antimicrobial peptides in concert with AparnaBio’s powerful in vivo targeting. In parallel, we are developing AB-96, a monoclonal antibody for an epitope we uncovered on a fungal protein associated with pathologic infections and clinically validated as a therapeutic target.
AB-96 is being developed for invasive infection imaging and as a therapeutic for combination with lipid-based amphotericin B, and later with AB-174. AparnaBio’s portfolio of antimicrobial agents are expected to generate worldwide annual sales revenues approaching $1B. These are the first clinical development candidates for a pipeline of products for imaging and treatment of invasive fungal infections, and are expected to experience market expansion for other infectious fungal diseases.
Tumor Targeting RNAi Therapeutics
Using our tissue targeted NanoElectroPlex technology for delivery of oligonucleotides, AparnaBio has developed RNAi therapeutic candidates for oncology. This application of our therapeutic NanoElectroPlexTM technology employs a newly developed polyamide carrier with low toxicity, where its biodegradable nature helps to satisfy clinical use requirements.
ABS-393 is under development for treatment of cancers based on targeting tumor neovasculature and delivery of anti-angiogenic oligonucleotide gene inhibitors. Targeting tumor neovascualture is a clinically validated approach, but an arena where a strong consensus exists that better therapeutics are needed. The use of a “dual-targeting” strategy that combines tumor localization with antiangiogenic gene inhibition is a strong candidate to address the limitations of current therapy.
Vaccines
NanoElectroPlex™ has the potential to transform many technological areas, especially delivery of proteins needed to address many long standing barriers to expanded biomedical applications, including rationally designed vaccines. AparnaBio has adapted the NanoElectroPlexTM technology to develop a synthetic Virus Like Particle (sVLP™) technology platform for vaccines that can co-package peptides and proteins along with oligonucleotide TLR agonists that act as powerful vaccine adjuvants. AparnaBio received US government funding to develop an sVLP™ based vaccine for anthrax, as the need for an improved vaccine against Anthrax is well recognized. Development of our sVLP™ vaccine technology for anthrax illustrates the broad applicability of this platform technology for development of single- or multi-antigen vaccines.
ABNV-07 is AparnaBio’s initial vaccine candidate, developed for anthrax. It uses the clinically validated anthrax Protective Antigen (PA) but conjugated to an anionic polypeptide that acts as anchor giving a multivalent PA display on the nanoparticle sVLP™ surface. This PA conjugate is co-packaged in the sVLP™ with an TLR agonist and shown to produce in mice one of the strongest immune response reported, and includes a strong toxin neutralization titer. Continued development has been planned to advance product development to complete cGMP manufacturing and IND enabling pharmacology.
For more detailed information about our therapeutic products, please contact us.