Arcede Pharma looks ahead with strengthened team
On Monday, Arcede Pharma released its report for the third quarter of the shortened fiscal year 2022. While waiting to start the final part of the toxicology program, two leading experts in the respiratory field have joined the company as advisors. BioStock contacted CEO Mia Lundblad to find out more.
Lund-based Arcede Pharma develops RCD405, a double-acting drug candidate for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe asthma. The goal is to develop a drug that differs from existing treatments in that it is both airway relaxant and anti-inflammatory. The hope is to be able to offer patients a more effective drug that can also affect the underlying disease development.
The company is in the final preclinical stage, where it is awaiting the start of the last and final part of the toxicological program. In the autumn, Arcede presented preliminary results from the first part of the program, which showed that RCD405 is well tolerated and did not produce any unexpected effects or side effects. Read more about the results here.
New scientific advisors in place
Arcede Pharma recently announced that it has engaged two leading experts within the respiratory field as scientific advisors. In addition to their experience, the company also gains access to a wide network in the area. BioStock talked to one of the new advisers, Professor Clive Page, who heads the Sackler Institute for Pulmonary Pharmacology at King’s College London, in an interview that you can see here.
The company has also started working together with Professor Arne Egesten, who is head of the division of pulmonary medicine, allergology and palliative medicine at Lund University Hospital. Together with his group, Arcede has initiated experiments aimed at gaining a better understanding of RCD405’s mechanism of action. The trials will continue during the spring.
More patent approvals
In addition to the new advisors, Arcede Pharma has also announced more patent approvals regarding the drug candidate. Last year, the patent authorities in Japan and South Africa have Arcede the green light, and at the end of January, Canada followed suit. This means that RCD405 is now protected in these countries until 2039. The company already has approval within the EU.
Comments from the CEO
On the financial side, we note that cash flow during the 8 months of the fiscal year of 2022 amounted to -7.8 MSEK and that cash at the end of the period amounted to approximately 16.7 MSEK. BioStock contacted Arcede Pharma’s CEO Mia Lundblad to get her view on the first fiscal year as CEO of a listed company.
First of all, Mia, you are now presenting your first year-end report. How would you describe 2022?
– It has been extremely intense, exciting, and developing. We have generated very valuable data that, together with future study results, will give us a much better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the dual effects that RCD405 has shown.
– We have also established a valuable network, both in terms of the science and from a drug development perspective. We have also received very positive signals regarding the potential of RCD405.
You have ongoing contact with your contract laboratory regarding the start of the second toxicological study in your program. Have you received any signals about when it can start?
– The study will be initiated at the end of April and the actual dosing will last four weeks, after which some of the animals will be studied during a period when they are not dosed, a so-called recovery period. Analysis of all samples begins when the entire study period for all individuals is completed.
If we look at 2023 in general. What milestones do you hope to report during the year?
– Given the start of the studies in April, we will be able to report the final results from the toxicological studies. In collaboration with Iconovo, we aim to find the optimal formulation, i.e. recipe, for RCD405 so that it can be inhaled using a simple inhaler. In addition, we have generated enough data that allows us to begin the compilation of all the documentation required to begin clinical development.
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