Chimeric Bait Receptors for Combatting Brain Cancers and Neurodegenerative Diseases Can Be Delivered via Programmed Microglial Cells

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:HEMO), the clinical stage biopharmaceutical group, announces that it has demonstrated in vivo that its proprietary Chimeric Bait Receptor ("CBR") can be delivered into the brain via programmed microglial cells for the potential treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases.

Delivery of therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier is one of the most difficult problems in the treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases. Our scientists at have developed a method of transplantation of human hematopoietic (blood) stem cells ("HSC") that allows their engraftment and differentiation into microglial cells (immune cells that reside in the brain) in the brains of immune-compromised mice.

The Company believes that autologous HSCs that are genetically modified to make CBR and transplanted back to a patient could give rise to microglial cells in the patient's brain. Such microglial cells that have been armed with CBR could potentially be able to find and phagocytose (ingest and destroy) either brain cancer cells or abnormal protein aggregations (e.g., amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's).

The Company's approach described above may offer a number of benefits: (1) it could deliver CBR therapeutics across the blood brain barrier; (2) CBR-armed microglial cells may not be rejected as they are autologous/patient-derived; (3) CBR-armed microglial cells may provide long-term protection of the brain against cancer or protein aggregations because microglial cells live for a long time; and (4) autologous HSC, which are self-renewing, could become an almost unlimited source of CBR-armed microglial cells for the patient.

This is a further indication of the growing range and versatility of CBR as a potential tool against a variety of difficult to treat and deadly conditions.

Research continues on CBR and the Company intends to increase its focus on this once HEMO-CAR-T has entered clinical trials.

Dr Vladislav Sandler, CEO & Co-Founder of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals, commented: "This major breakthrough in the method of delivery of our CBR into the brain is a unique tool that may allow us to successfully tackle some of the most difficult and often incurable human diseases. As we broaden the scope of use for our CBR platform, we are eager to continue its development."

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation No 596/2014 (as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) until the release of this announcement.

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About Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is a publicly traded company (LSE: HEMO) headquartered in London, with its US operating subsidiaries, Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals LLC and Immugenyx LLC, located in New York City at its state-of-the-art research facility.

The Company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical group developing new medicines and treatments for life-threatening diseases. Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is developing several distinct and complementary product candidates, as well as a platform technology that it uses as an engine for novel product development.

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SOURCE: Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC