Pharmaceutical Technology

Daily Newsletter

14 November 2023

Daily Newsletter

Ethris and Heqet team up for RNA-based therapeutic development

Heqet Therapeutics and Ethris have collaborated to develop RNA-based therapeutics to treat cardiovascular conditions.

German biotech Ethris and King’s College spinout Heqet Therapeutics have announced a partnership to develop new RNA-based therapeutics for heart diseases. This collaboration arrives amidst a surge of interest in RNA-based therapeutics.

Under this deal, Ethris will offer the use of its proprietary Stabilised NanoParticle (SNaP) lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform in exchange for milestone and royalty payments. Heqet will lead the drug development efforts, focusing on treatments for heart failure and heart attacks.

Heqet Therapeutics is currently in the preclinical development phase with its non-coding RNA (ncRNA) therapeutics. Ethris, on the other hand, is using its SNaP LNP platform to develop drugs that use an inhalation delivery method to reach the respiratory tract or intramuscular injection for vaccination.

In a 13 November press release, Professor Mauro Giacca, founder of Heqet Therapeutics, said: “In experimental screenings for a precise delivery technology, Ethris’ SNaP LNP platform has demonstrated very promising properties in terms of efficiency and specificity.”

Separate from its partnerships, the Germany-based Ethris is also developing a pipeline of other drugs focused on rare diseases, immunomodulation, regenerative medicine and vaccine development.

This November, Ethris joined a new global organisation named the Alliance for mRNA Medicines (AMM) as a founding member. The alliance involves partnerships between 23 organisations with mRNA specialities, collaborating to share expertise for the advancement of the field. The group also announced plans to “advocate for policies and regulatory bodies in North America, Europe, and Asia to support innovation, define regulatory standards, and enhance patient access to mRNA medicines”, as per a 1 November press release.

RNA-based and specifically mRNA-based therapeutics have been in the spotlight recently as the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to the scientists whose research led to the development of mRNA vaccines. According to GlobalData, there are 43 RNA-based therapeutics in the Phase III stage of development.

GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.

Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) entering the PD market pose significant opportunities and risks

As PD therapy currently centers on symptomatic treatment, the need for DMTs is one of the greatest unmet needs. Several companies within the late-stage PD pipeline are developing drugs that target PD via novel MOAs. Targeting α-synuclein and other neurotoxic proteins is a key strategy in the late-stage pipeline for DMTs. However, the lack of validated predictive biomarkers of PD progression have made the development of DMTs and neuroprotective agents challenging.