Member Info for Moneymunch

se of proceeds

Whilst work on the Library project has already commenced, in order to widen it to have an emphasis on COVID-19, the Company will manage an extensive R&D program involving producing SARS-Cov-2 viral antigens, the synthesis and analysis of rational libraries of antibodies and development using the Company's antibody engineering platforms. In order to facilitate this work, the Company will be required to recruit additional research scientists and make corresponding alterations to workspace and laboratory accommodation. New specialised equipment will be purchased and third-party testing and validation will be employed to fully develop the capabilities of the Library. The Company will use the net proceeds of the Placing to undertake these actions, as well as for general working capital purposes for the existing contract services business.

Current trading and prospects

Year-end trading update

Notwithstanding the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting Government restrictions, trading remained strong throughout the year to 31 March 2020 ("FY 2020"). The Company commenced the commercialisation of its new RAMP(TM) service this year and this has contributed materially to the revenues in FY 2020. Subject to audit, the Company expects to report numbers for FY 2020 in line with current market expectations, with revenue of not less than GBP3.8 million. The Company ended FY 2020 with an unaudited cash balance of GBP1.5 million.

As announced on 30 March 2020, the Company remains open and fully operational and is conducting vital business, as usual, for its customers. Like many other companies, the Company has experienced short periods when a member of staff has had to self-isolate as a result of COVID-19 symptoms or from being in direct contact with a symptomatic person. If well, staff are endeavouring to continue to work from home during periods of isolation, and all affected staff have returned to work after the quarantine period. As the Company's laboratories and offices are all contained within one building, hygiene practices were already strong. To provide a safer environment with better social distancing for the Company's laboratory-based scientists, all other staff who can work from home have been doing so for several weeks.

As noted above, Fusion's clients include developers of therapeutic drugs and diagnostics, a number of whom are working on solutions relating to COVID-19 and/or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The Company is well positioned to continue to provide outsourced services to these clients and is pleased to note that one of the projects in which the Company has an interest in future royalties has been developed for this therapeutic area.

Ths is going to go big time, as good news rolls in .Gla :-)

As previously announced, a number of the Company's clients are amongst the leading developers of therapeutic drugs and diagnostics and are working on solutions related to COVID-19. The Company has received a number of enquiries from its clients for services and is well placed to assist in this vital area of development.

Further, the Company has an ongoing programme to develop a Mammalian Antibody Library Discovery Platform (the "Library") which, once live, is expected to reduce the length of time needed for antibody drug development compared with conventional practices. The Company's development programme on the Library is about to enter the proof-of-concept stage.

In late 2019, the first cases of a new coronavirus infectious disease, COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-Cov-2 were detected in China and, since then, the virus has spread into a global health emergency. This presents an opportunity for the Company to test and benchmark the Library in a real-world setting against an unmet medical need. Effective vaccines, treatments, both prophylactic and therapeutic, and diagnostic tests are required to produce a long-term solution for this disease. The Company will aim to use its antibody expertise and, in particular, the Library to contribute towards finding a solution. The proof-of-concept programme will involve validation against several therapeutic indications encompassing COVID-19, together with other well understood oncology targets. In addition to validating the Library in readiness for commercialisation there is the potential to develop successfully produced antibodies further for therapeutic use in conjunction with commercial partners.

Commercial Benefits

The key objective for the Company is to achieve a significant impact upon the commercial launch of the Library platform to a global audience. The Directors believe that the enhanced reputation of the Library from the rapid development of antibodies that address the COVID-19 disease and other targets for therapeutic use will enable the Company to maximise future returns from its commercial application. Additionally, there is the possibility that antibodies generated during the validation of the Library could be developed further in collaboration with a commercial partner.

Reasons for the Placing

The race to find solutions to the current global health emergency has begun and so the Directors believe that Company must act swiftly to take this opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of its new technology. Given the current economic uncertainty, the Directors consider that it is in the best interests of the Company to undertake the Placing at the current time, in order to provide the Company with the resources to undertake the additional proof-of-concept work on the Library in respect of COVID-19, as well as for the existing oncology targets, whilst continuing to support its clients in their critical work.

re French Bio.., maybe something similar in the pipeline for EVG. Gla :-)

Currently, there are no clinical studies on sulforaphane versus covid-19, "so we are forced to use therapeutic approaches based on previous research. Sulforaphane has been shown to be safe for consumption and that it is commercially available. I think it can be an important treatment available to the citizen in the current viral pandemic "continues the boss of the laboratory Nutrinov.

Nutrinov and its researchers therefore hope to be able to launch a clinical study to assess the efficacy of sulforaphane against the current virus.

Close the gap back to 16p for starters, news of new CEO coming, and if Sfx-01 is selected for clinical trials for Covid-19, then the sky's the limit. Gla :-)

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10p plus close on the cards, fingers crossed for news this coming week. Gla :-)

Optimising antibody expression and considering the “manufacturability” of antibody sequences is fundamental to developing any therapeutic antibody, and ultimately also has an impact on cost. A functionally perfect antibody that becomes overly modified or degraded during large scale manufacture will not make it to the clinic. For example, manufacturability can be affected by free cysteines, formation of interchain disulphide bond formation and aggregation. Less dramatic self-interaction may still only be evident at the high concentrations required for a clinical production batch.

Stability is another cost factor. Optimizing the antibody for longer shelf life and reducing the need for cold storage can help to keep costs down.

Help from a trusted partner

Fusion Antibodies’ rational affinity maturation platform – RAMPTM – produces functional antibodies that are optimised to jump the hurdles littering the path to the clinic, helping to control costs along the way. Rational library design reduces the risk of sequence liabilities and the downstream risks of aggregation and immunogenicity (2). This can increase yield, optimise affinity and promote stability. The best candidates are screened out in silico from the library and expressed in mammalian cells for further characterisation – including manufacturability.

Contact us to see how we can optimise your antibody for the clinic

Overcoming obstacles on the path to the clinic

Posted on 22nd April 2020

Therapeutic antibodies have revolutionized the treatment of numerous diseases, but not every antibody has what it takes to become a licensed medicine. Finding a high-affinity antibody that binds to your target is only the first step. The ideal therapeutic antibody must have good efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and stability, and in addition, be easy to manufacture to ensure commercial viability.

Safety first

Safety is the first requirement for any medicine, and this is no different for therapeutic antibodies. Perhaps most importantly, a good therapeutic antibody should bind to its target with high specificity. For example, an antibody that is designed to target tumour cells should ignore healthy cells, as off-target binding might lead to unexpected side effects.

It’s also crucial to fine-tune the antibody’s affinity – how tightly it binds to its target. If the affinity is too low and the antibody binds its target only weakly, the therapeutic effect may not be achieved. Conversely, if the affinity is too high, the antibody dose could be “used up” too quickly, and the likelihood of off-target activity might increase.

Another important step is to minimise the risk of the antibody generating an immunogenic reaction. If an antibody is unstable, it can aggregate, misfold or even give rise to potentially dangerous metabolites such as charge variants (which occur when an amino acid has been oxidised or deaminated). These seemingly minor changes can render an antibody immunogenic, as well as reducing its efficacy.

Optimising efficacy and PK

When it comes to optimising the efficacy of an antibody, one of the major challenges is fine-tuning its affinity. The antibody needs to have sufficiently high affinity to ensure that it works as intended, but not high enough that it binds to off-target molecules and causes unintended side effects. In some cases, reducing the antibody’s affinity might actually increase its functionality, particularly in the case of multi-specific antibodies that bind two or more antigens at once (1).

Therapeutic antibodies also need to be delivered efficiently to where they’re needed in the body, and hang around for long enough to have an effect. At the same time, there should be a focus on minimising the number of doses the patient requires. The PK of the antibody can be optimised by careful screening for liabilities in its sequence that could, for example, make it unstable, meaning greater and more frequent doses are required.

Cost of goods

With increasing numbers of approvals, the therapeutic antibody market is getting crowded and competitive. Healthcare payers need to control costs, a pressure that is passed onto manufacturers. Thus, cost control should be part of every antibody development programme from the beginning.

Looking good and strong, confirmation of the new CEO is likely to add significant value, and news on their drug development collaborations with several Universities, who are all now heavily involved in Covid-19 treatment research, could drop at anytime, and if SFX-01 is confirmed as a likely candidate for Covid-19 trials, then this will fly. Gla :-)

Fusion's clients include some of the leading developers of therapeutic drugs and diagnostics, a number of whom are working on solutions relating to COVID-19, Cash Flow positive and have just raised £3.5m cash and only 26m shares in issue....Grab 'em while you can. Gla ;-)

Translated from French to English...Gla ;-)

Coronanvirus: Nutrinov laboratory to launch research to evaluate the efficacy of sulforaphane

Thursday April 30

Around the world, the race is on to find treatments for the coronavirus. Near Rennes, a laboratory specializing in health and nutrition wants to launch a clinical trial on sulforaphane, a natural compound with antiviral properties.

Doctors often say, by being careful what you eat, people can ease their symptoms and heal faster. Several epidemiological studies have notably identified the important role of fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet and physical activity, for example, reduce the risk of cancer.

Some substances are known for their antiviral properties. One of them is of particular interest to researchers and scientists in the Nutrinov laboratory located near Reindeer. He specializes in health and nutrition. Its researchers are particularly interested in sulforaphane, present in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale. It has several properties that participate in cell protection. It has also been shown to have antiviral properties.

A prophylactic and curative effect against covid-19?

"This molecule there, we know that it has antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer properties. We have done clinical studies with people who had prostate cancer. We have shown that it can help slow the evolution of pathology "explain Dr. Bernard Cipolla, surgeon oncologist in urology and Théo Efstathiou who heads the Nutrinov Analyzes & Research laboratory.

"In terms of antiviral activity, we conducted another clinical study in 2014 on mice targeted to pulmonary edema. We injected the H1-N1 virus in mice. A fortnight before, we had given sulforaphane and we noticed a clear reduction in the symptoms of pulmonary edema "indicates Théo Efstathiou.

Currently, there are no clinical studies on sulforaphane versus covid-19, "so we are forced to use therapeutic approaches based on previous research. Sulforaphane has been shown to be safe for consumption and that it is commercially available. I think it can be an important treatment available to the citizen in the current viral pandemic "continues the boss of the laboratory Nutrinov.

In France, 35 authorized clinical trials

Nutrinov and its researchers therefore hope to be able to launch a clinical study to assess the efficacy of sulforaphane against the current virus.

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/sante-sciences/coronanvirus-le-laboratoire-nutrinov-va-lancer-des-recherches-pour-evaluer-l-efficacite-du-1588254042

Queens University

Working to find a treatment through drug screening

Researchers at Queen’s have been awarded a grant of £295,626 in a bid to find a treatment for COVID-19.

The research project will see Professor Ultan Power and his team of researchers at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine infect models of human lungs with the virus that causes COVID-19. Then – working in collaboration with Ken Mills, Professor of Experimental Haematology at The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research – they will test combinations of existing drugs for effectiveness against the virus and the inflammatory responses that it induces.

The funding grant has been awarded as one of a first round of projects that will receive £10.5 million as part of the £20 million rapid research response funded by UK Research and Innovation, and by the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health R

NAADS in COVID-19 - short communication - version 1.1 - 1.5 A4 pages without references - 31.03.2020) Potent NRF2-activating dietary supplements (like resveratrol, curcumin, sulforaphane, “Asea redox supplement” [ARS] etc.) should be clinically tested as high-dose adjuvants in all types of medium and severe cases of aggressive respiratory viral infections (including Influenza A/B/C, measles, Coronavirus-related SARS, MERS, COVID-19) based on their extrapolated cytoprotective antioxidant effects

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(NADS in COVID-19 - short communication - version 1.1 - 1.5 A4 pages without references - 31.03.2020) Potent NRF2-activating dietary supplements (like resveratrol, curcumin, sulforaphane, “Asea redox supplement” [ARS] etc.) should be clinically tested as high-dose adjuvants in all types of medium and severe cases of aggressive respiratory viral infections (including Influenza A/B/C, measles, Coronavirus-related SARS, MERS, COVID-19) based on their extrapolated cytoprotective  antioxidant effects (especially on the main vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver), including the extrapolated strong cytoprotection offered by ARS on the cardiac muscle of DMD patients (which can be extrapolated to the lungs), like the author of this paper has demonstrated in past papers. Keywords: NRF2-activating dietary supplements, resveratrol, sulforaphane, curcumin, “Asea redox supplement” [ARS], respiratory viral infections, influenza A/B/C, avian influenza, measles, coronavirus, SARS, MERS, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis [TB]

Abstract

This very short medical communication proposes that potent NRF2-activating dietary supplements (like resveratrol, sulforaphane, curcumin, “Asea redox supplement” [ARS] etc.) should be clinically tested as safe high-dose adjuvants (in various combinations) in all types of medium and severe cases of aggressive respiratory viral infections (including Influenza A/B/C, avian influenza, measles, Coronavirus-related SARS, MERS, COVID-19, etc., including those patients who have important comorbidities like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis [TB] etc.) based on their extrapolated cytoprotective antioxidant effects (especially on the main vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver), including the extrapolated strong cytoprotection offered by ARS on the cardiac muscle of DMD patients (which can be extrapolated to the lungs), like the author of this paper has demonstrated in past papers. Keywords: NRF2-activating dietary supplements, resveratrol, sulforaphane, curcumin, “Asea redox supplement” [ARS], respiratory viral infections, influenza A/B/C, avian influenza, measles, coronavirus, SARS, MERS, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis [TB]

30/3/20

Fusion's clients include some of the leading developers of therapeutic drugs and diagnostics, a number of whom are working on solutions relating to COVID-19. The Company has been engaged and received further expressions of interest regarding its services for a number of projects in this therapeutic area and is well placed to support its clients in this vital work.

Nice one Early Bird, very interesting indeed. Gl ;-)

Barry Clare will become Executive Chairman on a temporary basis until a new CEO is appointed with the appropriate experience to take Evgen through the next exciting stages of its development. Barry, together with our strong group of Non-Executive Directors; Susan Clement-Davies, Sue Foden and Alan Barge, will support the executive team on business development and pre-clinical and clinical projects. The Company remains committed to developing sulforaphane-based medicines for the treatment of breast cancer and multiple other diseases and continues to collaborate with its various hospital and university partners.

The search for a replacement to fill the role is underway and the Company will update the market in due course.

Well the market doesn't seem unduly concerned, and so fingers crossed for a high profile replacement waiting in the wings. Gla ;-)

Not quite the news i was expecting, no notice given and so was he pushed? Should be interesting how quickly his replacement is made, and if someone is already lined up. Gl ;-)

Anticipation of news , certainly building. Gla ;-)

28/4/20

Paul Kerr, CEO of Fusion Antibodies plc commented : "We are delighted to be able to announce this oversubscribed placing which will help us in our critical work. In these currently extremely challenging times, we now have the resources to undertake the additional proof-of-concept work on the Mammalian Antibody Library Discovery Platform in respect of COVID-19, as well as for our existing oncology targets, whilst continuing to support our clients in their vital role. We remain confident that our products and services can help to accelerate finding a solution to this global health crisis."

Working to find a treatment through drug screening

Researchers at Queen’s have been awarded a grant of £295,626 in a bid to find a treatment for COVID-19.

The research project will see Professor Ultan Power and his team of researchers at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine infect models of human lungs with the virus that causes COVID-19. Then – working in collaboration with Ken Mills, Professor of Experimental Haematology at The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research – they will test combinations of existing drugs for effectiveness against the virus and the inflammatory responses that it induces.

The funding grant has been awarded as one of a first round of projects that will receive £10.5 million as part of the £20 million rapid research response funded by UK Research and Innovation, and by the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research.
Read more >
Queen's plays key role in delivering COVID-19 testing

Queen’s has joined forces with Ulster University and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to significantly increase the Department of Health’s capacity for diagnostic testing of the coronavirus.

Testing is due to begin at AFBI’s laboratories in Stormont very shortly for an initial period of 12 weeks, closely supported by Queen’s and their combined expertise and equipment is expected to make a significant impact on testing capacity. It is hoped that in due course, the centre will be capable of conducting up to 1,000 tests per day.

Read more >
Our respiratory expertise

Our world class virology researchers have been working for many years on the biology of viruses, and the processes that lead to common lung illnesses, such as viral infection, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cystic fibrosis and asthma.

Our medical experts are applying their distinctive knowledge in the field to work in cross-disciplinary research teams with clinical partners, all driven by the needs of patients and with the goal of translating discovery science into new and improved diagnostics, treatments and care.