Health
Aptorum Group Limited today, Wednesday, April 24 announced the establishment of a new subsidiary group, Smart Pharma, SmartP, which operates its novel computational repurposed drug discovery, modeling and validation platform, together referred to as the “Smart-ACTTM” platform.
Smart-ACTTM stands for Accelerated Commercialisation of Therapeutics and encompasses state-of-the-art technology in systematic screening of existing approved drug molecules against selected therapeutic targets. Specifically, the Smart-ACTTM platform comprises of a network of modules and processes that simulate the effectiveness of drug molecules against diseases for outcome prediction and selection. The Smart-ACTTM platform will initially focus on the screening drug molecules for orphan diseases or unmet medical needs.
To date, SmartP has, under the recently established Smart-ACTTM platform, successfully screened 1,615 compounds against 3 therapeutic target proteins which are related to poor prognosis of neuroblastoma (“NB”). NB is a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue and most frequently in the adrenal glands as well as spine, chest, abdomen or neck. The preliminary results from the Smart-ACTTM platform have now identified a number of potential repurposed drug candidates that could show promise against such disease. SmartP will next move on to conduct further in vitro and in vivo validation of these candidates through collaboration with Aptorum Group Limited to assess and validate the candidates’ usage for such new indication.
Drug repurposing typically involves the use of an approved drug or a drug under development for an indication than that for which it was originally developed. The safety profiles and CMC perspectives of these drug molecules are typically well-established and therefore drug repurposing represents a lower risk approach for drug discovery/development. One of the better-known examples of successful drug repurposing is thalidomide, which was originally developed to treat morning sickness but withdrawn from the market due to its birth defect side effects. Later, it was repurposed for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
SmartP targets to discover up to 10 repurposed drug candidates per annum under the Smart-ACTTM platform, which will continue to develop and enrich its library of intellectual property for such discoveries.
Further information on the Smart-ACTTM platform can be found on our website: http://www.smtph.com.
Ian Huen, the founder of Aptorum Group and Smart Pharma, commented: “Our Smart-ACTTM platform is a novel tool that we believe completely transforms the drug repurposing and discovery industry which traditionally relied on scattered and serendipitous discoveries. Instead, our Smart-ACTTM platform is based on computerized processes to perform systematic screening and prediction of drug molecules to accelerate the commercialization of therapeutics, with initial focus on orphan diseases and unmet medical needs. Aptorum Group is very excited with the development of Smart Pharma, with whom it will be actively seeking collaboration and co-development opportunities with the wider industry.”
– Apr. 24, 2019 @ 02:00 GMT |
Tags: Aptorum Group establishes Smart Pharma to focus on computational repurposed drug discovery
