Proclara Biosciences Australia, A Subsidiary Of Proclara, Awarded Grant By Biopharmaceuticals Australia To Help Develop New Biotherapy With Blockbuster Potential

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & QUEENSLAND, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Proclara Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for diseases caused by protein misfolding, announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $250,000 to support the development of NPT189 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other age-related neurological diseases. NPT189 is a second-generation fusion protein manufactured using advanced cell culture methods. The work is projected to start in 2017 at Patheon’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Brisbane. The material produced from the scale-up batch will be used in preclinical studies required for regulatory approvals and to de-risk the transition to large scale cGMP manufacture.

Proclara Biosciences has also been awarded an establishment grant of $25,000 from Biopharmaceuticals Australia (BPA). The establishment of Proclara Biosciences Australia Pty Ltd paves the way for the Company to develop its unique biodrugs using Australia’s globally competitive service providers.

Proclara’s drug candidates simultaneously target the multiple misfolded proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other age-related degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Proclara’s drug candidates may also be used to treat other protein-misfolding diseases, including systemic amyloidosis.

BPA’s Biopharmaceutical Development Fund of more than $2 million has pioneered support in Australia for new medicines in pre-clinical and early clinical development. BPA has already committed $1.8M to support biotech companies in developing biodrugs in association with Patheon. BPA estimates that its Patheon partnership returned a total economic benefit to Australia of over $100 million in under three years, with over $1 billion return forecast over 10 years.

About BPA
Biopharmaceuticals Australia is an industry development company wholly-owned by the Queensland State Government. It established the $65M manufacturing facility and teamed-up with Patheon as the long-term commercial operator. Opening in 2013, the facility’s design has received international recognition through ISPE’s 2014 Facility of the Year Award. On offer from BPA are grants of up to $25,000 to encourage international companies to establish a local entity as the base for their drug development programs. Also available are larger grants of up to $250,000 to provide supported-access to Patheon’s Brisbane plant. See www.biopharmaus.com.au.

About Proclara Biosciences
Proclara Biosciences is a biotechnology company advancing product candidates developed based on proprietary GAIM technology, which is capable of simultaneously targeting multiple toxic misfolded proteins. The broad applicability of the Proclara technology enables the company to target multiple protein misfolding diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and several rare systemic amyloidoses. The lead GAIM drug candidate, NPT088, is in clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, please visit proclarabio.com.