LCT makes headway on drug candidate pipeline for major disease treatments

Melbourne-headquartered biotechnology company Living Cell Technologies (ASX: LCT) made significant strides in its efforts to create a pharmaceutical company with a diversified product candidate pipeline during a busy June quarter.

Boosted by a successful entitlement offer, LCT enters the second half of the year with a reported cash balance of $4.1 million at 30 June.

However, this reported balance does not include $562K of additional funding received by the company from investors after 30 June.

Patent application made for AI-116 drug candidate for dementia

During the June quarter, LCT lodged a provisional patent application for a its AI-116 drug candidate for the treatment of dementia.

Newly minted AI-116, is a combination drug candidate that includes cannabidiol (CBD) and another off-patent pharmaceutical ingredient designed to go head to head with existing dementia drugs marketed to patients today.

The filing of the provisional patent application also marked the commencement of a second R&D project for LCT, to run alongside the company’s existing NTCELL xenotransplantation project.

To date development of AI-116, has been overseen by the company’s scientific team and consultants, however, LCT is also looking to work with a major Australian university to conduct pre-clinical studies. That work would include comparing the efficacy of AI-116 to an existing class of drugs used to treat dementia.

LCT says AI-116 has the potential to change how dementia is treated. Doctors have largely focused on managing symptoms and slowing the progression of the diseases underlying dementia in recent decades.

This has meant there has been no development of a cure for the diseases that cause dementia, which include alzheimers and parkinson’s disease.

New chief scientific officer named

To help progress these promising new applications, LCT has appointed the highly regarded Dr James Mckenna as chief scientific officer.

Holder of a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Melbourne, Dr Mckenna brings 23 years of full-time research science experience to the position.

Prior to being hired by LCT, he held a leadership position at an ASX listed biotechnology company where he managed and was involved in teams to advance a pre-clinical and clinical research and development program in the lead up to applying for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration.

Company rebranding – artificial intelligence a new company overlay

Alongside its scientific work, LCT announced it intended to seek shareholder approval to rename the company to Algorae Pharmaceuticals. It has already reserved the ASX ticker code ‘1AI’.

The company has also lodged a trademark application for the name Algorae, which it says is a unique word derived from the term algorithm.

The new name also aligns with the company’s revised business model which incorporates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in helping to undertake to drug discovery and development programs.

The company has entered into discussions with potential partners to facilitate the use and development of AI systems in its activities.

LCT will put forward the name change proposal approval to its shareholders at an upcoming extraordinary meeting (EGM) in September.

New opportunities being investigated

Meanwhile, LCT has engaged EAS Consulting Group (EAS) to support its assessment of potential new project opportunities.

The company has set aside a significant budget for the assessment and commencement of additional projects to expand and diversify its development pipeline.

EAS will most notably provide advice related to international regulatory affairs associated with pharmaceutical products.