HONG KONG, Sept 10, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - Aptorum Group
Limited (Nasdaq: APM) ("Aptorum Group"), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development of novel therapeutics to address
global unmet medical needs, announces that it has initiated
investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies for ALS-4, a small
drug molecule candidate indicated for the treatment of infections
caused by Staphylococcus aureus (or "S. aureus") including
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, i.e., one of the
commonly known "super-bugs") based on a novel anti-virulence
approach.
The ALS-4 candidate has been progressing well and the first series
of GLP toxicology studies have been completed through an appointed
North American based contract research organization (CRO). In
particular, ALS-4 candidate did not show any mutagenicity in the in
vitro Ames tests. ALS-4 development is on track and the company
targets to submit the related IND in the first half year of 2020
and a hybrid Phase 1 clinical study is currently planned in North
America with both healthy volunteers and patients to obtain
preliminary efficacy readout.
S. aureus is a bacteria which is a leading cause of blood, lung,
skin, bone and device-related infections, as well as toxin-related
diseases1. It is estimated that patients with S. aureus bacteremia
have an average mortality rate of 30%2 and that it is responsible
for causing more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis
combined3. MRSA and vancomycin-intermediate and resistant S. aureus
have also been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as
high priority pathogens for research and development4.
About ALS-4
ALS-4 is a small molecule drug candidate that is believed to
inhibit dehydrosqualene desaturase of S. aureus (incl. MRSA) which
is involved in the generation of staphyloxanthin, a commonly
visible "golden pigment" covering the bacteria and is primarily
responsible for the bacteria's resistance to attack from reactive
oxygen species (ROS) deployed by phagocytic cells and neutrophils5.
On this basis, ALS-4 is not bactericidal and through inhibiting the
production of staphyloxanthin, S. aureus becomes highly susceptible
to the host's immune clearance. ALS-4 deploys a novel approach
towards the treatment of bacterial infection which is significantly
different from the bactericidal approach found in most current
antibiotics that are experiencing increasing drug resistance
issues.
About Aptorum Group Limited
Aptorum Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) is a pharmaceutical company
dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to
tackle unmet medical needs. Aptorum Group is pursuing therapeutic
projects in neurology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology,
oncology and other disease areas.
For more information about Aptorum Group, please visit
www.aptorumgroup.com.
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements concerning Aptorum Group
Limited and its future expectations, plans and prospects that
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose,
any statements contained herein that are not statements of
historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In
some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms
such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,"
"could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates,"
"believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or
the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Aptorum
Group has based these forward-looking statements, which include
statements regarding projected timelines for application
submissions and trials, largely on its current expectations and
projections about future events and trends that it believes may
affect its business, financial condition and results of operations.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties
and assumptions including, without limitation, risks related to its
announced management and organizational changes, the continued
service and availability of key personnel, its ability to expand
its product assortments by offering additional products for
additional consumer segments, development results, the company's
anticipated growth strategies, anticipated trends and challenges in
its business, and its expectations regarding, and the stability of,
its supply chain, and the risks more fully described in Aptorum
Group's Form 20-F and other filings that Aptorum Group may make
with the SEC in the future. As a result, the projections included
in such forward-looking statements are subject to change. Aptorum
Group assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
1 Clin Microbiol Rev. 2015 Jul;28(3):603-61.
2 Clin Microbiol Rev. 2012 Apr;25(2):362-86
3 Van Hal et al. Clin Microbiol Rev 2012
4
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-02-2017-who-publishes-list-of-bacteria-for-which-new-antibiotics-are-urgently-needed
5 mBio 2017 8(5): e01224-17
Contacts
Investors:
Tel: +852 2117 6611
Email: investor.relations@aptorumgroup.com
Media:
Tel: + 852 2117 6611
Email: info@aptorumgroup.com
Kindly refer to the below link for our corporate presentation:
https://aptorumgroup.gcs-web.com/static-files/bcf77574-7bd6-4b9d-8110-d53837238f16
You may also refer to the below for our one-pager presentation:
https://aptorumgroup.gcs-web.com/static-files/9347f385-d6c9-489d-af0a-ddcbbec002f1
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