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Herantis Pharma plc and Renishaw plc sign collaboration agreement on Parkinson's study

Herantis Pharma Plc
Company release 25 Oct 2016 at 9:00 am

Herantis Pharma plc ("Herantis") and Renishaw plc ("Renishaw") have signed a collaboration agreement related to the first clinical study of CDNF in Parkinson's disease.  Under the agreement, the Drug Delivery System developed by Renishaw will be used for the clinical administration of CDNF. Herantis and Renishaw will jointly contribute to funding of the clinical study and both companies expect to independently benefit from the clinical data on CDNF and Drug Delivery System respectively.

"Collaboration with Renishaw is extremely valuable for us," says Sigrid Booms , Herantis' Director for Clinical Research. "In addition to benefitting from their novel and innovative technology in the clinical study we will also get the expertise and resources of an experienced global company."

Herantis and Renishaw are also partners in a consortium currently preparing an approximately €6 million grant agreement with the EU's Horizon 2020 framework programme related to the clinical study. Clinical trial applications have been submitted to regulatory authorities. Due to prolonged regulatory processes and ongoing EU grant negotiations the study's planned launch of patient recruitment has been postponed from end of 2016 to the first half of 2017.

Renishaw is a global company headquartered in the United Kingdom, with core skills in measurement, motion control, healthcare, spectroscopy and manufacturing. It develops innovative products that significantly advance its customers' operational performance - from improving manufacturing efficiencies and raising product quality, to maximizing research capabilities and improving the efficacy of medical procedures.

The collaboration and schedule change do not impact the outlook or guidance of Herantis.

Further information:

Herantis Pharma plc, Pekka Simula, CEO, telephone: +358 40 7300 445
Company web site: www.herantis.com
Certified Advisor: UB Securities Ltd, telephone: +358 9 25 380 246

About Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressing neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the brains. Common first symptoms of the disease include tremors, rigidity and slowness of movement. While the motor symptoms can be treated with medication the disease progression cannot be prevented, and the benefits of medication may be lost with disease progression or side effects can become unmanageable. In addition, Parkinson's disease may cause non-motor symptoms such as sleep problems, depression, and anxiety, which are not alleviated by current Parkinson's drugs. Estimated 7 million people worldwide have Parkinson's disease.

About CDNF

CDNF, or Cerebral Dopamine Neurotrophic Factor, is an endoplasmic reticulum located and secreted protein with neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties, patented worldwide by Herantis.  Following a preclinical development program, which has showed it as efficacious in several preclinical models of Parkinson's disease (PD), Herantis is preparing for a first-in-human clinical study of CDNF in the treatment of PD and has a preclinical development program for the treatment of ALS.

In preclinical studies including chronic toxicology studies, CDNF administration has been safe; CDNF has protected and regenerated midbrain dopamine-generating cells suggesting a potential for disease modification of PD; it has also shown efficacy in non-motor symptoms in PD. In an ALS disease model CDNF has significantly increased survival and reduced symptoms. This suggests the potential to address unmet clinical needs in both PD and ALS. CDNF is based on research at the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Helsinki, lead by professor Mart Saarma.

About Herantis Pharma Plc

Herantis Pharma Plc is a drug development company focused on early clinical development of innovative drugs in unmet clinical needs. Our special emphasis is in regenerative medicine where the company has two first-in-class assets based on globally leading science in their fields: CDNF for neurodegenerative diseases, primarily Parkinson's and ALS; and Lymfactin® for breast cancer associated lymphedema, with potential also in primary lymphedema. The shares of Herantis are listed on the First North Finland marketplace run by Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media
www.herantis.com