Evox Therapeutics to Collaborate with Boehringer Ingelheim on Exosome-Mediated Drug Delivery
OXFORD, England, December 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Evox Therapeutics Ltd ('Evox' or the 'Company'), a leading exosome therapeutics company, today announces that it has entered into a research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to investigate exosome-mediated delivery of RNAs with high medical relevance to targets for specific disease areas of focus to Boehringer Ingelheim. The collaboration is part of Boehringer Ingelheim's Research Beyond Borders (RBB) initiative that explores emerging science and technologies for and beyond its core therapeutic areas to create new opportunities in disease indications of high medical need.
Exosomes are small, cell-derived vesicles. Evox combines its exosome engineering platform with highly specific targeting technology, to enable the development of natural delivery nanoparticles for the treatment of severe diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, Evox and Boehringer Ingelheim will perform comprehensive in vitro and in vivo research with Evox's exosome technology in return for undisclosed financial considerations. This research may help to pave the way for approaching therapeutic concepts in diseases with high medical need that are currently not amenable to therapeutic intervention. Upon completion of these studies, Boehringer Ingelheim will have the option to negotiate a licence agreement to further develop RNA drug candidates using Evox's exosome-mediated delivery technology.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Antonin de Fougerolles, Chief Executive Officer of Evox, said: "Evox is pleased to add Boehringer Ingelheim to its growing list of collaborators. The use of exosomes as drug delivery vehicles provide significant advantages over other delivery methods as they can carry therapeutic molecules to difficult-to-reach target tissues. We look forward to working with Boehringer Ingelheim to evaluate the potential of exosomes to deliver drugs to sites that are currently inaccessible by other means."
About Evox Therapeutics
Evox Therapeutics is a privately held, Oxford-based biotechnology company focused on harnessing and engineering the natural delivery capabilities of extracellular vesicles, known as exosomes, to develop an entirely new class of biotherapeutics. Backed by Oxford Sciences Innovation and supported by a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio, Evox's mission is to positively impact human health by creating novel exosome-based biotherapeutics for the treatment of various severe diseases with limited options for patients and their families. Evox has created substantial proprietary technology to modify exosomes using various molecular engineering, drug loading, and targeting strategies to facilitate targeted drug delivery to organs of interest, including the brain and the central nervous system. Exosome-based drugs have the potential to address some of the limitations of protein, antibody and nucleic acid-based therapies by enabling delivery to cells and tissues that are currently out of reach using other drug delivery technologies, and Evox is leading the development within this emerging therapeutic space.
For further information visit: http://www.evoxtherapeutics.com
SOURCE Evox Therapeutics
