Herantis Pharma has signed an agreement with nanoparticle technology company Nanoform Finland to try out Nanoform’s biologics nanoparticle technology for intranasal formulations of CDNF (cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor). Nanoform launched its nanoparticle technology for biologics in November 2020.
Herantis is developing CDNF for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, and according to the announcement, “The goal of the planned collaboration is to develop a formulation that increases the probability of success for enhanced penetration into the brain via the nasal drug delivery route for CDNF.” Herantis will pay “compensation on standard commercial terms” for the proof of concept projects, the companies said.
Nanoform Chief Commercial Officer Christian Jones commented, “We are delighted to finalize the agreement with Herantis and initiate our partnership together. Brain delivery for biologicals and small molecules is a hugely challenging route of administration and we firmly believe nanoparticles have a key role to play in enhancing and hopefully enabling this. Since the launch of our biologics nanoparticle technology platform, we have experienced a high level of interest from the industry in exploring how our nanoparticles can potentially enable drug delivery opportunities and solve challenges in this space and we look forward to onboarding further partners both on the biologics and small molecules side.”
Herantis CEO Craig Cook said, “Intranasal delivery of CDNF is a key focus for Herantis. One of our important initiatives in this regard is the work with Nanoform to enhance and enable superior formulations of the pioneering new drugs we have developed and is a key and exciting opportunity for Herantis. Initiating this PoC formulation work is a solid start to 2021 and we look forward to evaluating Nanoform’s technologies to explore the potential enhancements of the drug delivery applications in this complex and challenging field. It is our hope that this collaboration will open up new possibilities for improving the lives of patients with Parkinson’s and other related diseases. We value the opportunity to enter into collaboration with Nanoform and look forward to what the future brings.”
Read the Nanoform and Herantis press release.
