After raising £910,000 from the UK charity the Wellcome Trust to fund a Phase Ib/IIa study of its lead product, a treatment for multiple sclerosis, Apitope Technology Ltd is looking for first round funding of up to £7 million.
The company recently announced the appointment of a new CEO, Keith Martin, formerly of the technology management company BTG plc, to take forward its commercial development.
Apitope was formed around research into autoimmune diseases carried out at the University of Bristol by the scientific founder, David Wraith. He is the inventor of Apitopes (antigen processing independent epitopes), which induce tolerance to abnormal autoimmune responses without affecting the body’s immune response to harmful antigens.
The lead product, API -1, 4, 6, 7 is a soluble, synthetic peptide based on a naturally occurring antigenic protein. The funding from Wellcome will enable the company to carry out the clinical trial in multiple sclerosis, which is expected to complete early in 2007.
With the new round of funding Apitope aims to complete a Phase II proof of concept study of API 1,4,6, 7 in treating multiple sclerosis by the end of 2008; complete the preclinical development of apitopes that prevent Factor VIII inhibitor formation as the basis of a treatment for haemophilia; bring three new in house programmes into the portfolio; and acquire complementary product candidates.
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