CQDM, Feldan Therapeutics and Amgen fund development of innovative drug delivery technology to target lung diseases
MONTREAL, April 18, 2023 – CQDM is proud to announce the funding of a project worth $503,779 aiming at optimizing a new drug delivery platform in the lungs to treat several disabling pathologies such as chronic pulmonary obstruction and cystic fibrosis. CQDM is providing a grant of $201,512, made possible by the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE). This funding, combined with the support of the Quebec company Feldan Therapeutics and the biotech company Amgen, will support the development of new therapeutic options. This project is part of a larger collaboration between the two companies, worth $1,427,757, to expand the potential of Feldan’s unique drug delivery technology.
Lung diseases are one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world and have been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. To be functional, therapeutic molecules must generally enter the lung cells, but unfortunately, they rarely reach them effectively because of the natural barriers of the airways. Thus, many therapeutic compounds with the potential to treat various lung diseases have failed during their development. In some lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, the airway mucus presents an additional challenge to reach the lung cells. Therefore, a drug delivery agent adapted to the lung environment is needed to deliver various promising therapeutic compounds into the airway epithelial cells in an efficient manner; this is exactly what the technology developed by Feldan Therapeutics proposes to accomplish. The technology could also be used to ultimately make drugs already on the market or suspended in development more effective. In order to explore this issue, scientists from Feldan, Amgen Canada and TransBIOTech research center (Lévis, Quebec) will form a collaborative research group allowing synergy between their expertise, thus increasing the chances of success of the project. By combining the strengths of the different partners, the team will work to improve the lives of thousands of people suffering from lung diseases by developing new treatments with great potential.
“To enhance Quebecers’ quality of life, our government is relying on collaborative innovation and research in life sciences. We will continue to support this ecosystem, in which innovative, promising treatments are developed in a priority sector”, noted Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development, and Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region.
“CQDM is proud to support Feldan Therapeutics and Amgen in their efforts to develop a unique drug delivery technology that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of many debilitating lung diseases. This innovation could be the key to unlock the access to lung cells and to reach the full potential of drugs, thereby addressing many unmet medical needs”, said Véronique Dugas, Vice President, Scientific Affairs at CQDM.
“Feldan’s strategy is to develop transformative therapies based on its unique intracellular delivery technology. Pulmonary diseases have been an area of Feldan’s focus for the last few years due to our technology’s capacity to reach the epithelial lung cells.”, explains Francois-Thomas Michaud, CEO of Feldan Therapeutics. “Yet, working within this new collaborative network will provide additional resources and knowledge needed to address the challenges imposed by airway barrier and develop new treatment opportunities for patients suffering from lung diseases”.
“We are very excited to be working with Feldan Therapeutics to help address challenges of delivering effective therapeutic molecules to patients dealing with various lung diseases”, stated Alan Russell, VP Biologics, Therapeutic Discovery, Amgen. “Amgen’s partnership with CQDM has allowed us to successfully leverage our collective insights to facilitate this valuable research. Amgen values the interactions it has with Feldan and looks forward to continued progress towards leveraging this exciting technology to potentially address the critical need for lung-targeted therapies.”