Aker BioMarine’s new venture to advance Lysoveta for brain and eye pharmaceuticals

11 Jan 2021 --- Aker BioMarine has teamed up with Medical Food Solutions Research to develop its lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-bound EPA and DHA ingredient Lysoveta into pharmaceutical therapies.

This is the first commercial pharmaceutical agreement Aker BioMarine has entered since it launched the business segment Lysoveta and product bearing the same name last November.

Under the agreement, a new company will be established to develop Lysoveta-based solutions to issues that currently “have no effective method of treatment” in the lucrative brain and eye health segment.

Aker BioMarine will receive 50 percent of the new company’s shares.

Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine, hails the agreement as “an important step to position Aker BioMarine as a global leader in development and commercialization in the LPC space.”

The collaborative announcement closely follows Aker BioMarine obtaining exclusive rights to the University of Illinois Chicago’s intellectual property related to LPC, being researched for its function on brain and eye health. 

Lysoveta is being researched for its role as a pharmaceutical therapy for ApoE4-related Alzheimer’s Disease. The beginning of a company 
The new venture will seek approximately US$30 million from external investors to fund early clinical trials to obtain proof of concept for the therapies.

Aker BioMarine will supply the company with all its LPC product needs and grant an exclusive license under its IP to the company

The license is limited to the distinct products and therapies to be developed by the company. 

In exchange for the exclusive license, Aker BioMarine will receive milestone payments and double-digit royalties from commercial sales of the therapies.

Targeting brain and eye health
Aker BioMarine sees ample commercial opportunities for its krill oil-based ingredient in the brain and eye health pharmaceutical segment.

The new company will research:

• Alzheimer’s Disease (AD): ApoE4-related AD, a genetic factor that is present in 35 percent of all AD cases.
• Gestational diabetes: Associated with lower uptake of DHA in the fetus and might cause abnormalities in the development of the brain.
• Dry age-related macular degeneration: Age-related vision decline.
• Dry eye syndrome: Low quality or low production of tears, causing inflammation and blurred vision.
• Stargardt’s juvenile blindness: Inherited eye disease that may cause vision loss from an early age.

“These are all diseases where there is no effective method of treatment available today, and which are having a big impact on the life quality of those affected,” says Dr. Michael Davidson, a lipidology expert who wholly owns Medical Food Solutions Research. The Lysoveta launch was motivated by research that identified LPC as a primary carrier molecule of DHA and EPA across the blood-brain barrier.

The Lysoveta launch was motivated by research that identified LPC as a primary carrier molecule of DHA and EPA across the blood-brain barrier – two widely studied fatty acids with an extensive scientific history of supporting cognitive and ocular function. 

“LPC’s breakthrough discovery gives us great confidence in the opportunities that lie within the use of Lysoveta for the development of treatments toward these diseases,” says Davidson.

Building upon a legacy
The collaboration is underscored by Davidson’s lipids expertise and past successes as a serial biotech entrepreneur. 

Davidson founded Omthera, which was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2013 for US$443 million and Corvidia Therapeutics, which was acquired by NovoNordisk in 2020 for US$2.1 billion. 

“This collaboration merges Davidson’s experience and track record from successful drug developments with Aker BioMarine’s IP and unique position for production and processing of LPC-EPA and DHA,” says Matts Johansen, CEO, Aker BioMarine.

Aker BioMarine will continue to seek partnerships within the pharmaceutical space to develop other therapies based on science in the field of LPC and the ability Lysoveta has for targeted delivery of EPA and DHA. 

By Missy Green