PharmAust (ASX:PAA) reports Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DNDi) has extended its contract with PharmAust’s chemistry subsidiary Epichem until March next year.
The company says the partnership between DNDi and Epichem will end in March due to development work reaching a new phase and changes in DNDi program funding, and this extension is expected to generate up to AUD $32,000.
As PharmAust progresses with clinical stage development and commercialisation of monepantel (MPL), it is expected that any short term spare capacity at Epichem will be taken up by PharmAust with overall cost savings.
Over 14 years Epichem has contributed to DNDi’s vision of expanding access to ‘simple’, ‘safe’ and ‘effective’ tests and treatments for neglected patients.
Epichem General Manager Fiona Milner said DNDi has consistently applauded the commitment, excellence and quality of research provided by the Epichem team.
“In the contract medicinal chemistry business new contracts are secured and existing contracts end at some stage for a variety of reasons including funding.
Our team has enjoyed working and partnering with DNDi for this long time and wish DNDi well for the future.”
PharmAust is an ASX and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed clinical stage company developing therapeutics for humans and animals, and it specialises in repurposing marketed drugs lowering the risks and costs of developments.
These efforts are supported by its subsidiary Epichem, a contract medicinal chemistry company which generated $3.4 million in sales of goods and services in Financial Year 2022.
PharmAust’s lead drug candidate is monepantel, a ‘novel’, ‘potent’ and ‘safe’ inhibitor of the mTOR pathway that is influential in cancer growth and neurodegenerative diseases.
The company says MPL has been evaluated in phase one clinical trials in humans and phase two clinical trials in dogs, and the drug demonstrated ‘objective’ anticancer activity in dogs.
PharmAust is positioned to commercialise MPL for treatment of human and veterinary cancers as well as neurodegenerative diseases as it advances a reformulated version of the drug through phase one and two clinical trials.
Epichem is a wholly owned subsidiary of PharmAust based in Western Australia that has been delivering products and services in synthetic and medicinal chemistry to global drug discovery and pharmaceutical industries in over 40 countries for over 18 years.
