Bioasis Announces Publication of CNS Delivery of siRNA via xB³ Platform Technology

NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIOASIS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (TSXV:BTI; OTCQB:BIOAF), (the “Company” or “Bioasis”), a pre-clinical, research-stage biopharmaceutical company developing its proprietary xB³ platform technology for the delivery of therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier (“BBB”) and the treatment of central nervous system (“CNS”) disorders in areas of high unmet medical need, including brain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the publication of research validating the ability of the company’s xB³  platform to efficiently deliver siRNA across the blood-brain barrier to the central nervous system in therapeutically relevant doses.

Scientists from Bioasis and Dr. Wilfred A. Jefferies evaluated Bioasis’ xB³ platform technology by investigating its application to siRNA brain delivery; this was followed by an efficacy study in an ischemic stroke model induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. This research shows that the xB³ platform can act as a delivery vector to facilitate BBB translocation of siRNA; where the siRNA targeting NOX4, a gene thought to be responsible for oxidative stress in ischemic stroke, can elicit effective therapeutic knockdown of a gene in the CNS. The successful delivery was demonstrated by reduced stroke damage in the brain and improved neurological function. The research conducted by Eyford, et al., “A Nanomule Peptide Carrier Delivers siRNA Across the Intact Blood-Brain Barrier to Attenuate Ischemic Stroke,” was published in the Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

The data presented in this publication provide evidence for the utility of xB³ peptide (previously known as MTfpep) as a platform technology for delivery of recombinant and chemically conjugated drug across the BBB. This study demonstrates both siRNA-carrier delivery and therapeutic efficacy in CNS disease model where the BBB remains intact and thus offers new avenues for potential siRNA focused treatments in variety of neuropathologies that are currently refractory to existing therapies.

Dr. Wilfred A. Jefferies, Professor at University of British Columbia, stated, “This study demonstrates for the first time, the translocation of a small peptide, nanomule, across the intact blood brain barrier carrying a payload sufficient to modify a disease in the central nervous system, in this case an siRNA that ameliorates ischemic stroke. The implications of this discovery are wide ranging, and this platform may provide a general method to intervene in diseases of the brain."