NEW YORK, September 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Q BioMed Inc (OTC: QBIO), a biotechnology acceleration and development company is pleased to announce a Letter of Intent to in-license and ultimately acquire the assets of Mannin Research Inc.
Mannin Research Inc, is a biotechnology company leading the development of a new class of vascular therapeutics. The drug development program at Mannin is led by Mannin’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Susan E. Quaggin, Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Utilizing a proprietary research platform, only recently published (September 2014) in the Journal of Clinical Investigations, this technology is addressing the need for a new class of drugs to treat diseases such as Glaucoma and Cystic Kidney disease. Our primary target indication is for a first-in-class therapeutic eye-drop for the treatment of Glaucoma in adults and children.
The global market for Glaucoma therapeutics is one of the largest segments of the $23 billion global ophthalmology market. There are 60 million people worldwide suffering from Glaucoma. It is projected that the total population suffering from Glaucoma will grow to 80 million by 2020 (W.H.O 2010). Our lead candidate, MAN-01, will address this market as a first-in-class drug that treats abnormal vessels within the eye, thereby treating Glaucoma at its root causes. There have been no new class drugs developed for Glaucoma for 20 years, since Pfizer introduced Xalatan (latanaprost).
There is no cure for Glaucoma and new therapeutics are highly sought after. Current therapies and surgical procedures are not optimally effective, are painful and not well tolerated by patients.
Intra-Ocular Pressure (IOP) is caused by abnormal flow of clear fluid within the eye, causing irreversible damage to the eye, ultimately leading to blindness. A specialized blood vessel, the ‘Schlemm’s canal’ is the major drainage pathway for fluid to escape from the front of the eye. Glaucoma can occur when this canal is either blocked or from a birth defect, resulting in a small or absent Schlemm’s canal.
We are developing a unique molecule delivered in an easy-to-administer eye drop designed to repair the normal flow of fluid in the eye resulting in the reduction of IOP, one of the main causes of Glaucoma. Our platform is both unique and first-in-class and we are the only drug company targeting this mechanism of action.
Our estimates and market research has shown that demand for treatments in this sector is fairly in-elastic. The cost for treatment would be approximately $1000 per patient per year. Based on a 5% sales growth per year and a conservative market penetration of 10%, revenues could exceed $9 billion over the life of the patent. A more aggressive estimate of 30% could yield up to $29 billion over the life of the patent.
We expect to be conducting our first-in-human clinical trials by 2017. In addition, a deep pipeline of novel therapeutics can be developed from this research platform developed and led by Dr. Quaggin, which would treat a spectrum of vascular diseases.
“We are extremely pleased to have made the first, of what we believe, will be many exciting steps towards a well-diversified and highly valued portfolio of innovative technology assets to fall under the Q BioMed umbrella,” said Denis Corin, CEO of Q BioMed Inc. “We are excited to welcome the Mannin team, including Mannin’s CEO, Dr. George Nikopoulos, and CSO Dr. Susan Quaggin to the Q Family and look forward to developing an important and highly sought after therapy for this debilitating disease.”
About Dr. Susan E. Quaggin, Chief Scientific Officer, Mannin Research Inc.
Susan Quaggin, MD graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto in 1988 and received her specialty degree in Internal Medicine in 1992. She completed her sub-specialty training in Nephrology in 1993 at U of T and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University where she studied the genetic basis of kidney development.
In 1997, she returned to Toronto to do a second post-doctoral fellowship in mouse genetics in the laboratory of Janet Rossant. From 1997 until 2012, she was at the University of Toronto where she was a Senior Scientist at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, a practicing Nephrologist at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Gabor-Zellerman Professor in Renal Medicine.
Quaggin has served as an elected councilor of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), is a member of the ISN executive Council and was elected to the American Association of Physicians (AAP) in 2013. She received the Kidney Foundation of Canada 2009 Award for Research, a Finnish Distinguished Professorship in 2012 and the Alfred Newton Richards Award for Basic Science from the International Society of Nephrology in 2013. In addition, Quaggin sits on the editorial boards of several journals, and has organized a number of international renal and vascular meetings.
In January 2013, Quaggin joined Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine as the Charles Horace Mayo Professor of Medicine, where she serves as the director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute (FCVRI) and chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension.
Quaggin’s research program focuses on genetic pathways required to establish and maintain the integrity of microvascular beds including the glomerular filtration barrier - a highly selective filter that separates the blood from the urinary space. To understand the pathways and interactions between perivascular cells and the endothelium, her research team has developed a number of genetic models that permit cell and time-specific manipulation of gene expression.
About Q BioMed Inc.
Q BioMed Inc. “Q” is a biomedical acceleration and development company. We are focused on acquiring companies and biomedical assets. Q is dedicated to providing these target companies and assets, strategic resources, developmental support, and expansion capital to ensure they meet their developmental potential enabling them to provide products to patients in need?.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our growth strategy and product development programs and any other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated are: risks related to our growth strategy; risks relating to the results of research and development activities; our ability to obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical testing; our dependence on third-party suppliers; our ability to attract, integrate, and retain key personnel; the early stage of products under development; our need for substantial additional funds; government regulation; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.
Contact:
Denis Corin
CEO
Q BioMed Inc
+1-888-357-2435
George N. Nikopoulos
CEO
Mannin Research Inc.
+1-416-306-2853
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