Pre-close operational update

RNS Number : 9974K

e-Therapeutics plc

29 April 2010

 



Press Release

29 April 2010

e-Therapeutics plc

("e-Therapeutics" or "the Company")

Pre-close operational update and notice of Results

e-Therapeutics plc (AIM: ETX), the network drug discovery and development company, is pleased to provide an operational update for the year ended 31 January 2010, ahead of its Preliminary Results which will be announced on Tuesday 29 June 2010.

In November, the Company raised £2.5 million before expenses. The fundraising provides e-Therapeutics with working capital to continue ongoing discovery and development activities. The Company continues to enjoy a low cost base while continuing to be highly productive in drug discovery as a consequence of the Company's proprietary network pharmacology technology.

The Company is continuing its strategy of developing along the path to market for a number of promising compounds and a number of clinical trial starts are expected in 2010.

There is continuing development of the Company's oral asthma (ETX9101) and antidepressant (ETS6103) medications, and the  topical antibiotic (ETX1153a), which were licensed by Khandelwal Laboratories Pvt. Ltd ("KLAB"). Regulatory submission has been made to commence Phase III studies for ETX9101 and ETX6103, and a response is expected from the regulators in the coming weeks. In addition, regulatory permission for the clinical development of ETX1153a will be applied for later this year.

Through its collaboration with Infinitus Clinical Research Ltd ("Infinitus") as announced in February 2010, e-Therapeutics is preparing to undertake Phase IIa clinical development on candidates from its existing portfolio scheduled to commence in 2010. Regulatory, formulation and batch manufacture preparations are underway. While the program is initially for a total of 250 patients the Company has secured an option to extend the trials to 500 patients, all of which will be conducted according to International Good Clinical Practice (iGCP) standards.

Drug discovery work continues in specific disease areas such as oncology, using the the Company's proprietary network pharmacology technology. The programs are targeted on the production of new chemical entities as well as repositionable drug candidates, and are focused on commercially important so-far unmet medical needs. e-Therapeutics remains in discussions with a number of pharmaceutical companies in order to secure licensing and other commercialisation opportunities for these compounds.

Malcolm Young, CEO of e-Therapeutics commented: "The route to commercialisation for a number of e-Therapeutics' compounds continues to develop and we are considering a variety of development models in order to maximise the value in our candidate pipeline for shareholders. e-Therapeutics has put in place the capability to undertake clinical development of a number of our candidates in the existing portfolio, while maintaining the Company's commitment to discovering new drug candidates. Against the backdrop of ongoing development and discovery, the progress and financial position of the Company continues to be in line with management targets and expectations."

An analyst presentation, given by Prof. Malcolm Young, CEO, and Johnny Cordiner, CFO, will be held at 9.30am on Tuesday 29 June 2010 at Abchurch's office, 16th Floor, 125 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AR.

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For more information:
e-Therapeutics plc	www.etherapeutics.co.uk
Malcolm Young [e-mail]	[phone]
Nominated Advisor & Broker: Canaccord Adams Ltd	www.canaccordadams.com
Robert Finlay / Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor henry.fitzgerald-o'[e-mail]	[phone]
Media enquiries: Abchurch Communications	www.abchurch-group.com
Heather Salmond / Simone Elviss / Hannah Sharman [e-mail]	[phone]

Notes to Editors

e-Therapeutics plc is a drug discovery company that pioneered network pharmacology. It has developed proprietary computational systems to swiftly and accurately analyse and predict how medicines interact with cells in the body. This optimises the probability of identifying drug candidates with desirable efficacy and low toxicity. The Company applies its novel, systematic approach to three areas of activity:

·	discovery of new drugs;
·	discovering novel uses for existing drugs; and
·	analysis of the interactions between different drugs.

Amongst e-Therapeutics' pipeline of compounds in development are novel antibiotics that have been shown to kill the "superbug" MRSA, and a novel cancer chemotherapy that has been shown to kill malignant cells at safe doses in a very short time. Other candidate therapies in development are targeted at atherosclerosis, asthma and depression. The Company is currently in negotiation with a number of pharmaceutical companies, and is progressing the preclinical and clinical development of these products.

For further information on e-Therapeutics visit www.etherapeutics.co.uk. 

 

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