APEIRON Biologics AG and Domainex Ltd announce the expansion of their partnership to progress targeted cancer immune therapy drug discovery

• Integrated lead optimisation to advance APEIRON’s Cbl-b inhibitor development programme APN431
• Inhibitors discovered at Domainex via virtual and fragment screening

Vienna, Austria and Saffron Waldon, UK, 9th November 2020 / Sciad Newswire / APEIRON Biologics AG, a privately-held biotech company developing breakthrough therapies to treat cancer and respiratory conditions, has selected Domainex Ltd to provide integrated lead optimisation services in order to advance the development of inhibitors for the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b through small molecule drug discovery.

Under the terms of the agreement, Domainex, a leading integrated drug discovery research service partner, will provide its expertise in medicinal and computational chemistry, screening, structural biology and ADME/PK to advance APEIRON’s promising Cbl-b targeting compound series APN431 towards pre-clinical development.

To date, Domainex has successfully provided APEIRON Biologics with its expertise in hit identification, both fragment-based and virtual screening, by establishing and deploying a suite of biophysical assays against variants of the E3 ligase Cbl-b and other members of this target class, to determine the binding affinity, mechanism and selectivity of promising compounds. The partnership will now progress into its next stage, with Domainex providing lead optimisation services.

Dr. Tom Mander, CEO of Domainex, said: “We are delighted to move into this new phase of our partnership with APEIRON Biologics to support the discovery and development of new medicines to treat cancer. Our multi-disciplinary team of scientists has been successful at generating multiple compound series with promising properties. Their commitment through seven-day a week operations and implementation of shift-patterns has enabled us to continue to progress client-sponsored projects throughout the COVID-19 pandemic whilst maintaining social distancing at our state-of-the-art Medicines Research Centre. We look forward to continuing our journey of discovery with APEIRON.”

Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO of APEIRON Biologics AG, commented: "Finding the right research partner for the development of our highly innovative immune-oncology therapeutics is essential for fast, efficient and ultimately successful results. We are delighted to expand our partnership with Domainex for our Cbl-b targeted APN431 project and help us to quickly move to the next stage of its development. Domainex provides deep know-how in state-of-the-art structure based medicinal chemistry and assay development to help us achieve our ambitious goals. With our small molecule program APN431 we have an additional approach to target Cbl-b, next to our autologous cell therapy program APN401, which is currently in clinical Phase 1 development.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About APEIRON Biologics AG
APEIRON Biologics AG is a European private biotechnology company based in Vienna, Austria, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel immunotherapies for cancer and respiratory diseases. APEIRON’s APN01 / alunacedase alfa (rhsACE2) is undergoing a Phase II trial to treat COVID-19.

APEIRON Biologics has an approved product on the market, Qarziba^®, for the treatment of pediatric neuroblastoma patients, which is outlicensed to and distributed worldwide by EUSA Pharma. The company’s clinical program APN401 is a first-in-class autologous cellular therapy to strengthen immune reactivity via targeting the intracellular master checkpoint, Cbl-b.

APEIRON Biologics´ projects and technologies are based on a strong patent portfolio and partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions.

Further information at www.apeiron-biologics.com

About Domainex Ltd.
Domainex is a leading, multi-award-winning, integrated medicines research service partner working with ambitious life science organisations from around the globe. The Company has been setting new standards in research since 2001, working collaboratively with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, patient foundations and leading academic institutions.

Domainex provides innovative and customised biology and chemistry services to advance the disease research projects of its partners, from target expression to pre-clinical development candidate nomination. Working with Domainex maximises the chance of successful progression for its partners’ research and this approach consistently saves up to 30% of the time needed to discover new medicines by comparison with the industry average. Domainex’s innovative science and extensive technical capabilities enable it to produce novel medicines to treat diseases with strong commercial potential. The team works closely and collaboratively with its partners to understand their aspirations, bringing ideas, know-how and a wealth of experience to bear on their projects.

Domainex’s highly qualified and experienced team of dedicated research scientists has an unrivalled breadth of knowledge, access to a wide range of technologies and a proven track record of successful innovation in solving research challenges including being named on over 60 patent applications and the invention of numerous candidate drugs. The Company aims to deliver successful outcomes efficiently and quickly, setting the highest possible benchmark in medicines research.

Full information about Domainex and its award-winning services can be found at www.domainex.co.uk.

For more information, please contact:

APEIRON Biologics AG
Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO
E-Mail: investors@apeiron-biologics.com 
www.apeiron-biologics.com

Domainex
Dr. Tom Mander
E-Mail: tom.mander@domainex.co.uk
www.domainex.co.uk

Media and Investor Relations APEIRON Biologics AG
MC Services AG
Julia Hofmann
T: +49 89 210 228 0
E-Mail: apeiron@mc-services.eu

Media Relations Domainex
Sciad Communications
Deborah Cockerill / Juliette Craggs / Katie Warren
T: +44 (0)20 3405 7892
E-Mail: domainex@sciad.com

Future-looking Statements 

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect the opinion of APEIRON Biologics and Domainex at the time of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are dependent on many risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the companies´ management. This could mean that the actual results differ materially from the forecasts in these forward-looking statements. We expressly assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements regarding changed expectations of the parties or regarding new events, conditions or circumstances on which these statements are based.