Antisense Therapeutics (ANP)

Shares / Stock Code

ANP

Stock Exchange / Sharemarket

ax

Antisense Therapeutics Limited (ANP) is an Australian-based company operating mainly in the health care industry. Antisense is engaged in the creation, development and commercialisation of the antisense pharmaceuticals. Its principal activity involves utilisation of the antisense technology for the development of therapeutics for human diseases with main operations in Australia, US, Japan and Europe. ANP was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on the 20th of December 2001. Its average annual revenue reaches approximately AUD$486 thousand out of its issued capital of $39 million. Its headquarters is located in Victoria, Australia and to date; around 10 people are employed in the company. Antisense operates two projects: ATL1103 and ATL1102.

ATL1103 is one of the Antisense' drugs developed to block the growth hormone expression while the ATL1102 belongs to the Phase II clinical trials designed to treat multiple sclerosis. It is a VLA-4 sub-unit and is an antisense inhibitor of CD49d. The ATL1102 was the result from an experiment performed at an asthma animal model that inhaled an antisense compound form targeting the VLA-4.

Antisense Therapeutics has also collaborated with a California-based company, Isis Pharmaceuticals which also holds a major stake in the company. Isis Pharmaceuticals also leads all the aspects of advancement in Antisense technology that includes new chemistries development, mechanism research, innovative drugs and novel formulations. Antisense Therapeutics also received the rights to use Isis technology for the commercialisation of antisense drugs to its many drug targets. Some of the alliances of Isis are Chiron Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, Opthalmics, Novartis, Glaxo SmithKline, Pfizer and Hoffman-Laroche Inc.

Antisense Therapeutics (ANP) Company History

In 2004, an announcement that ATL1102 phase I trial for the multiple sclerosis had a positive result was made by both the Antisense Therapeutics and ISIS Pharmaceutics. It was also in 2004 when a new laboratory for the novel antisense research for human disease was established by the Antisense Therapeutics.

In January 2006, with the approval granted by the Germany's University of Essen Ethics Committee, Antisense began its Phase II trial for the Antisense compound ATL1102. This experiment was done for patients experiencing relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and in December of the same year, the plan for the development of the second generation for its ATL1103 antisense drug for sight disorders and growth was announced by the company.

In January 2007, the additional clinical trial sites of Antisense Therapeutics were established. These were located is some countries in the Central Eastern Europe. These sites were established for the development of the Phase II trial of the ATL1102 in patients with the relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Antisense was also granted with the regulatory approval for the Phase II trial to take place in countries like Romania, Slovak Republic and Bulgaria. A month later, the drug discovery as well as the development collaboration of Antisense with Isis Pharmaceuticals was extended. It was also in the same period when the European Patent Office gave the patent to the ATL1102 which will last until 2019. 80 patient trials were also conducted by the company in September for the assessment of the efficacy and safety of ATL1102 for the patients with relapsing-remitting MS in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany and Slovak Republic.