LONDON, April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ReNeuron Group plc (AIM: RENE), a global leader in the development of cell-based therapeutics, provides the following update in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect on the Company of U.K. and U.S. government measures to contain the spread of the disease.
The safety of employees, suppliers, clinical trial participants and all other people with whom the Company interacts is of over-riding importance to the Company. The Company is complying with governmental advice and requirements across its operations in the U.K. and U.S., with the majority of employees able to continue working from home with minimal disruption to the Company's day-to-day operations. In order to allow laboratory-based staff to conduct essential work safely, a rota system has been put in place to minimize staff contact without compromising research protocols or health and safety standards in the laboratories.
The Company's priority internal research projects are continuing to progress to current timelines. Consumables and reagents are still widely available and the Company's own consumable inventories are such that all current internal research activities can continue without being significantly impacted.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has initiated a research program focused on the potential utility of its proprietary exosomes as a delivery vehicle for viral vaccines. Previously presented, unpublished data show that ReNeuron's exosomes can be loaded with biologically active cargo and delivered preferentially to certain specific sites in the body. This research is in its initial stages, the goal being to establish whether an increase in the potency of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccines in development can be enhanced in this way, utilizing ReNeuron's established expertise in exosome isolation, modification and manufacture at scale.
Government measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus are having an increasing effect on most clinical studies, including in the U.S., where the Company is running two clinical trials with its therapeutic candidates for stroke disability and retinitis pigmentosa. As a consequence, these clinical studies will be subject to some delays in patient recruitment and the Company will provide further guidance regarding the timing of availability of top-line data from the studies in due course. Patients already treated continue to be followed up in both studies, on a remote basis where this is necessary in order to ensure patient safety.
ReNeuron's exclusive licensing partner in China, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co., Ltd. ("Fosun Pharma"), continues to pursue development of the Company's CTX cell therapy candidate for stroke disability in the licensed territory (Greater China including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). Clinical trial applications have recently been filed to open clinical sites in the licensed territory for the Company's ongoing PISCES III clinical trial in stroke disability.
The Company will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on its business, taking further action where necessary and announcing further updates as appropriate.
About ReNeuron
ReNeuron is a global leader in cell-based therapeutics, harnessing its unique stem cell technologies to develop 'off the shelf' stem cell treatments, without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The Company's lead clinical-stage candidates are in development for the blindness-causing disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and for disability as a result of stroke. ReNeuron is also advancing its proprietary exosome technology platform as a potential delivery system for drugs that would otherwise be unable to reach their site of action. ReNeuron's shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L. For further information visit www.reneuron.com.
ENDS
SOURCE ReNeuron Group plc
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