LONDON (Alliance News) - Amryt Pharma PLC on Monday said it has secured grant funding of EUR8.4 million over three years to develop its AP103 gene therapy platform.
Amryt shares were trading 11% higher on Monday at 15.00 pence each.
The orphan drug company said the funding was provided by Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, a part of the Irish government's department of business.
Amryt said it will be developing the platform alongside University College Dublin, biotechnology manufacturer Curran Scientific Ltd and non-profit organization DEBRA Ireland.
The grant funding will be matched by the partners at various funding levels over the three-year term of the project.
The funds will be used for research & development and staff costs associated with the project and, if pre-clinical work is successful, to fund the initial phases of a clinical trial for AP103.
Amryt said preliminary data suggested that the platform could be a disease-modifying therapy for patients with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, a subset of Epidermolysis Bullosa.
In addition to the primary work on AP103, the funds will also support research into the platform's underlying High Branched Poly polymer technology for the potential treatment of other genetic disorders.
"We are very pleased to have received the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund grant award and are grateful for the support of the Irish government," said Amryt Pharma Chief Executive Joe Wiley.
"This funding will help to accelerate the development of our platform from research through to patient treatment in clinical trials," added Wiley.
