VERAXA Biotech (NASDAQ: VRXA) and closely held Secarna Pharmaceuticals have announced positive initial results from their research collaboration to develop next-generation antibody oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs) for the treatment of autoimmune and chronic immune diseases.
According to the companies, in early in vitro studies, an AOC candidate sourced by combining both parties’ technologies and expertise demonstrated greater potency compared to the equivalent unconjugated, naked oligonucleotide, underlining the future therapeutic potential of the approach. Encouraged by these results, both parties are now discussing the next steps in this alliance.
In a statement, Christoph Erkel, PhD, CSO of VERAXA, commented, “Achieving this milestone in our collaboration with Secarna in less than a year demonstrates that our conjugation technology powered by our proprietary click chemistry can be applied efficiently within partnerships beyond our company’s primary focus areas in solid tumors. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Secarna, a leading innovator in oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and unlocking the breadth of opportunities in this emerging drug class.”
