Update on Nuvec® process improvements

RNS Number : 2156B

N4 Pharma PLC

29 January 2020

 

29 January 2020

N4 Pharma Plc

("N4 Pharma" or the "Company")

Update on Nuvec® process improvements

N4 Pharma Plc (AIM: N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines, is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its work to improve the dispersion of Nuvec®, details of which were announced in the Company's Interim Results on 18 September 2019.

The first two stages of phase one of the in vitro work have now been completed. The Company has manufactured a new batch of Nuvec® using an improved process and has successfully demonstrated that the Nuvec® particle can be effectively and repeatedly dispersed into a more monodisperse formulation, prior to the addition of DNA. The Company expects that this more monodisperse formulation will result in a more even distribution of DNA across the Nuvec® nanoparticles, thereby resulting in a more monodisperse formulation of DNA loaded Nuvec®.

A number of techniques are available to measure particle size distribution, including dynamic light scattering, laser diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Company has compared these nanoparticle measurement techniques to ensure a full understanding of the extent of agglomeration of Nuvec®. N4 Pharma's analysis of these techniques has confirmed that TEM provides a robust assessment of the size and morphology of individual nanoparticles and that laser diffraction is a more suitable and consistent process to measure Nuvec® dispersion in an aqueous solution and to define the extent of agglomeration. Using TEM and laser diffraction the Company has been able to more accurately measure the size of individual nanoparticles and quantify the levels of dispersion seen for Nuvec®.

Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

"The work highlighted in the Interim Results is moving forward well and we are pleased to have been able to produce a more disperse form of Nuvec® prior to the addition of DNA.

We will now move forward with the next stage of the work to investigate how to add DNA to this new more disperse Nuvec® in order to maintain this improved level of dispersion prior to injection.

We very much appreciate the support of our shareholders as we undertake this process improvement work and will provide further updates in due course."

Enquiries:

N4 Pharma Plc Nigel Theobald, CEO	Via Scott PR
Allenby Capital Limited James Reeve/Asha Chotai	Tel: [phone]
Scott PR Georgia Smith	Tel: [phone]

About N4 Pharma

N4 Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company developing a novel delivery system for vaccines and cancer treatments using its unique silica nanoparticle delivery system called Nuvec®.

N4 Pharma's business model is to partner with companies developing novel antigens for vaccines and cancer treatments to use Nuvec® as the delivery vehicle to get their antigen into cells to express the protein needed for the required immunity. As these products progress through pre clinical and clinical programs, N4 Pharma will seek to receive up front payments, milestone payments and ultimately royalty payments once products reach the market.

 

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