Argenica (ASX:AGN) gets preclinical study grant for ARG-007

Argenica Therapeutics has received a grant from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation to conduct preclinical studies of its novel neuroprotective therapeutics.

The grant will fund pre-clinical efficacy studies required to initiate a clinical trial in newborn infants suffering from hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation and limited blood flow.

The milestone study will evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia, Argenica’s lead drug candidate ARG-007, and the combination of the two in reducing brain injury in HIE.

The previous preclinical study of ARG-007 showed significant effectiveness in reducing total brain injury in a preclinical model of HIE.

HIE is a serious condition that can lead to permanent brain damage in newborn infants.

It will be a medical breakthrough because there is currently no therapeutic drug on the market to protect brain cells following HIE, and therapeutic hypothermia is the standard of care.

Argenica’s novel neuroprotective therapeutics could have far-reaching implications for treating HIE and other neurological conditions.

The next steps will be larger animal studies to confirm the positive results of its previous preclinical study of ARG-007, as well as complete juvenile toxicology studies required to advance the drug candidate into clinical trials

ABOUT ARGENICA 

Argenica (ASX: AGN) is developing novel therapeutics to reduce brain tissue death after stroke and other types of brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases to improve patient outcomes. Our lead neuroprotective peptide candidate, ARG-007, has been successfully demonstrated to improve outcomes in pre-clinical stroke models, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). The Company has recently completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy human volunteers to assess the safety and tolerability of a single dose of ARG-007. Argenica is now progressing towards a Phase 2 clinical trial in ischaemic stroke patients, as well as continuing to generate preclinical data in other neurological conditions, including TBI, HIE and Alzheimer’s Disease.