Recipharm, a CDMO, has partnered with Aptahem, biotechnology company, for the formulation of Apta-1 drug candidate.
 
The aptamer-based drug candidate is intended to treat life-threatening condition sepsis, a potentially fatal condition which involves a general inflammatory response, known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), caused by an infection.
 
Recipharm will develop an injectable formulation for the upcoming Phase I study.  
 
The partnership follows the positive results of Apta-1’s exploratory sepsis study with non-human primates (NHP) which provided a greater understanding of the anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of the candidate and continued to support its multifunctional potential within its therapeutic area. 
 
Anders Högdin, Ph.D., senior sales director at Recipharm, said, “We are pleased to be able to contribute to the development of Aptahem’s leading drug candidate which has the potential to meet the major medical needs that exist for sepsis patients. Recipharm has extensive experience in developing drugs for clinical trials, as well as in commercial manufacturing and we believe that our team’s expertise will be a very valuable asset during this new collaboration.” 
 
Mikael Lindstam, chief executive officer of Aptahem said, “We are extremely pleased to be able to access the strong competence and experience that Recipharm has through this agreement. Choosing a partner to help us progress our drug candidate is a significant milestone. We are now moving at full speed ahead in the development process of Apta-1 and with this cooperation now established I am convinced that we will be able to accelerate further.”