EUROAPI and Priothera enter into CDMO collaboration to advance oncology project
Euroapi
4 min read
Euroapi
Press Release
EUROAPI and Priothera, a biotechnology company specializing in the treatment of hematological malignancies and the improvement of CAR-T cell therapies, have signed a 5-year CDMO agreement
EUROAPI will develop and industrialize the manufacturing process of innovative complex molecule for blood cancers
Paris – June 18, 2024 – EUROAPI announces today the implementation of a 5-year development and manufacturing agreement with Priothera, a biotechnology company specializing in molecules for the treatment of hematological malignancies and for the improvement of CAR-T cell therapies. Priothera is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and has a subsidiary in Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin), France.
As part of this collaboration, EUROAPI will develop and industrialize the manufacturing process of mocravimod, an innovative oncology molecule, through its Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) activity. This project will be carried out at EUROAPI’s Budapest site, its center of excellence for complex chemistry.
“Oncology is a major segment for EUROAPI’s CDMO business. Signing this development and manufacturing agreement with Priothera demonstrates our ability to adapt to state-of-the-art innovation and quality requirements,” said Cécile Maupas, Chief CDMO Officer of EUROAPI. “This contract is a true recognition of EUROAPI’s broad panel of technologies and capabilities to respond to the increasing demand across different modalities.”
“Having EUROAPI as a commercial manufacturing partner brings a substantial value to Priothera who is accelerating its late development of mocravimod in a global phase 3 clinical study with a view of worldwide drug registration and commercialization by 2027,” said Florent Gros, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Priothera.
Mocravimod is a S1P1 receptor modulator being developed as an adjunctive and maintenance treatment for blood cancers, with the objective to reduce relapses and increase survival of patients. It is being developed in a global phase 3 trial which is enrolling approximately 250 adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia patients, and is ongoing in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. It has been granted Orphan Drug designation by both EMA and US FDA. Oncology is a growing market worldwide: global spending on cancer medicines is expected to reach $375 billion by 2027, up from $196 billion in 20222. According to the US National Cancer Institute, approximately 1.6 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with leukemia at some point during their lifetime3.
About EUROAPI EUROAPI is focused on reinventing active ingredient solutions to sustainably meet customers’ and patients’ needs around the world. We are a leading player in active pharmaceutical ingredients with approximately 200 products in our portfolio, offering a large span of technologies while developing innovative molecules through our Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) activities.
Taking action for health by enabling access to essential therapies inspires our 3,650 people every day. With strong research and development capabilities and six manufacturing sites, all located in Europe, EUROAPI ensures API manufacturing of the highest quality to supply customers in more than 80 countries. EUROAPI is listed on Euronext Paris; ISIN: FR0014008VX5; ticker: EAPI). Find out more at www.euroapi.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Priothera Priothera is leading the way in developing orally applied S1P receptor modulators for the treatment of hematological malignancies and for the improvement of CAR-T cell therapies. S1P receptor modulators are known to largely reduce egress of T cells from lymphatic tissues. Mocravimod is increasing GvL benefits in patients receiving allogeneic HSCT while inhibiting GvHD.
Priothera was founded in 2020 by an experienced team of drug development experts and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and with an operational subsidiary in Saint-Louis, France. The Company is backed by international founding investors Fountain Healthcare Partners (Dublin, Ireland), funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, LLC (Boston, Massachusetts), HealthCap (Stockholm, Sweden), EarlyBird Venture Capital (Berlin, Germany), as well as non-dilutive financing in the form of loans from the European Investment Bank under its Venture Debt Instrument and Bpifrance (Grand Est Bpifrance) in the form of a R&D innovation loan.
EUROAPI Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release is forward looking and not historical data. These forward-looking statements are based on opinions, projections and current assumptions including, but not limited to, assumptions concerning the Group’s current and future strategy, financial and non-financial future results and the environment in which the Group operates, as well as events, operations, future services or product development and potential. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans” and similar expressions. Forward looking statements and information do not constitute guarantees of future performances, and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, a large number of which are difficult to predict and generally outside the control of the Group, which could cause actual results, performances or achievements, or the results of the sector or other events, to differ materially from those described or suggested by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those that are indicated and detailed in Chapter 3 “Risk factors” of the Universal Registration Document filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers, AMF) on April 5, 2024. These forward-looking statements are given only as of the date of this press release and the Group expressly declines any obligation or commitment to publish updates or corrections of the forward-looking statements included in this press release in order to reflect any change affecting the forecasts or events, conditions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based.
1 sphingosine-1-phosphate 2 Source: Iqvia data, https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publications/reports/global-oncology-trends-2023 3 Source: SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Leukemia. National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/leuks.html
