ARECOR LAUNCHES NEW PLATFORM TOOL FOR VISCOSITY REDUCTION IN HIGH CONCENTATION BIOLOGICS

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND. 29th October, 2013

Arecor, the Cambridge biotechnology company specialising in the stabilisation of biopharmaceuticals, announced today a key addition to its ArestatTM platform, through the creation of a novel and proprietary formulation design tool to reduce the viscosity of liquid biologic formulations, enabling higher concentration doses in easy-to-administer prefilled syringe formats.

There is a move in the biopharmaceutical industry to higher concentration liquid formulations to enable easy-to-administer prefilled syringe formats, especially for subcutaneous delivery of monoclonal antibodies and other antibody medicines effective in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers. A key challenge in creating these high concentration biologics is the high viscosity that is associated with them. Viscosity is the parameter that describes a fluid’s resistance to flow and a high viscosity fluid is very difficult to push through industry-standard syringes fitted with normal gauge needles.

Reducing formulation viscosity can be particularly important for patients with, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, who may find self-administering a viscous drug from a prefilled syringe very challenging due to the high force required on the syringe plunger.

Arecor’s novel technology, based on generally recognised as safe (GRAS; FDA approved) excipients, provides a powerful and highly effective way to reduce formulation viscosity in these biotherapeutics without compromising the product shelf-life. The technology is available through Arecor’s standard collaboration model.

Tom Saylor, CEO of Arecor, said: “This new technology is an important addition to our portfolio of proprietary platform tools for solving the toughest liquid formulation challenges.” Jan Jezek, CSO of Arecor, added: “This is an exciting breakthrough for the scientific team at Arecor. We truly believe that the technology will find broad applicability to achieve high concentration antibody medicines that provide patients with a more convenient and comfortable treatment regime”.

Notes to Editors:

Arecor is a pioneer in the stabilisation of biologic molecules, a key challenge in the development of many therapeutic proteins, vaccines and diagnostics. Many proteins, peptides or vaccines are too unstable in liquid form to develop ready-to-use drugs, or are unstable at high concentrations. Arecor has developed a set of unique technologies to address these problems with the potential to revolutionise the self-administration of therapeutic medicines which can be used by patients. It has partnered with the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies to enhance the commercial value and practical utility of many different types of therapeutic proteins, peptides and vaccines.

1. Further information about Arecor and its technology can be found at: http://www.arecor.com/.