Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Starpharma initiates new DEP™ drug delivery program with AstraZeneca

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Abstract:
Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced the initiation a new DEP™ drug delivery program with AstraZeneca. The new agreement will see the application of Starpharma’s DEP™ platform to a further compound from AstraZeneca’s portfolio. The new program is outside the scope of the existing license agreement signed in September 2015, and is in addition to the current programs.

Starpharma initiates new DEP™ drug delivery program with AstraZeneca

Melbourne, Australia | Posted on July 27th, 2016

“It is very pleasing to see a further expansion of our partnered DEP™ programs with AstraZeneca to evaluate new therapeutic candidates in addition to the existing license agreement,” said Dr Jackie Fairley, Chief Executive Officer of Starpharma. “This new program is built on the success we have achieved with DEP™ in our current projects with AstraZeneca, and is further validation of the DEP™ platform and its broad applicability to different types of products. AstraZeneca is a tremendous partner and our collaboration has been a very positive one. We look forward to continuing to work closely with AstraZeneca on this new program in parallel with the ongoing projects under our existing license”, she added.

Starpharma uses its DEP™ technology to improve the performance of pharmaceuticals. Both preclinical and early clinical data have shown DEP™ versions of drugs to be enhanced in a variety of ways compared to the unmodified drugs. Starpharma has a number of internal DEP™ candidates, including DEP™ docetaxel, which is in the advanced stages of Phase 1 clinical testing. The company also has a number of important partnered DEP™ programs underway in which Starpharma’s DEP™ technology is being applied to partners’ drugs to improve product performance and formulation characteristics.

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About Starpharma Holdings Limited
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY), located in Melbourne Australia, is an ASX 300 company and is a world leader in the development of dendrimer products for pharmaceutical, life science and other applications.

Starpharma’s underlying technology is built around dendrimers – a type of synthetic nanoscale polymer that is highly regular in size and structure and well suited to pharmaceutical and medical uses. Starpharma has three core development programs: VivaGel® portfolio, DEP™ drug delivery, and agrochemicals with the Company developing a number of products internally and others via commercial partnerships.

Starpharma’s lead products are based on VivaGel® (SPL7013, astodrimer sodium), a proprietary dendrimer which has antimicrobial properties. VivaGel® formulated as a water based gel and delivered vaginally now has EU regulatory approval for topical treatment and rapid relief of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and is under clinical development for the prevention of recurrent BV. Starpharma has signed a license agreement with Aspen Pharmacare Australia Pty Ltd for the sales and marketing of VivaGel® BV in Australia and New Zealand. Starpharma has also signed separate licence agreements with Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) and Okamoto Industries. Inc., (TSE: JP3192800005) to market a value-added, VivaGel® condom. The VivaGel® condom is available for purchase in Australia under Ansell’s Lifestyles® Dual Protect™ brand. Ansell manufactures and sells leading condom brands worldwide, including LifeStyles®, Manix®, ZERO® and SKYN®. Okamoto is the market leader for condoms sold in Japan, which is the world’s second largest condom market.

In the wider pharmaceutical field, Starpharma has both partnered and internal programs in Drug Delivery. A number of dendrimer-enhanced, or DEP™ versions of existing drugs are under development. The most advanced of these is DEP™ docetaxel, a dendrimer-enhanced version of docetaxel (Taxotere®), which is in clinical development in patients with solid tumours. In preclinical studies DEP™ docetaxel has shown significant tumour-targeting and superior anti-cancer effects across a range of important cancer types including breast, prostate, lung and ovarian tumour, when compared to Taxotere® (docetaxel). AstraZeneca has signed a licensing agreement with Starpharma for the use of its DEP™ drug delivery platform in the development and commercialisation of an AstraZeneca oncology compound, with potential for follow on compounds directed at a defined family of targets.

In agrochemicals Starpharma has a series of partnerships with leading industry players including global leader Adama (formerly Makhteshim Agan) as well as internal programs including an enhanced version of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup®).

Forward Looking Statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements, relating to Starpharma’s business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “promising”, “plans”, “anticipated”, “will”, “project”, “believe”, “forecast”, “expected”, “estimated”, “targeting”, “aiming”, “set to”, “potential”, “seeking to”, “goal”, “could provide”, “intends”, “is being developed”, “could be”, “on track”, or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential filings or marketing approvals, or potential future sales of product candidates. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no assurance that any existing or future regulatory filings will satisfy the FDA’s and other authorities’ requirements regarding any one or more product candidates nor can there be any assurance that such product candidates will be approved by any authorities for sale in any market or that they will reach any particular level of sales. In particular, management’s expectations regarding the approval and commercialization of the product candidates could be affected by, among other things, unexpected trial results, including additional analysis of existing data, and new data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry, and general public pricing pressures; and additional factors that involve significant risks and uncertainties about our products, product candidates, financial results and business prospects. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Starpharma is providing this information as of the date of this document and does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.

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Contacts:
Buchan Consulting
Rebecca Wilson
Mob: +61 417 382 391

Arthur Chan
+61 2 9237 2805

Starpharma:
Dr Jackie Fairley, Chief Executive Officer Nigel Baade, CFO and Company Secretary
+61 3 8532 2704
www.starpharma.com