BioArctic is Awarded Grant From EU's Horizon 2020 for Participation in Research Consortium for Better Diagnostic Tools and Biomarkers for Parkinson's

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

BioArctic AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BIOA B) has been awarded a grant from EU's research and innovation program Horizon 2020. The grant (Grant Agreement No. 813528) has been obtained for the company's participation in a European consortium working for collaboration between the pharma industry and European universities. It is also the task of the consortium to educate the next generation of researchers and to encourage entrepreneurship in the area of diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. The educational part falls within the scope of Marie Sklodowska-Curie's education initiative "Innovative Training Networks, PET Imaging of Alpha-Synuclein Fibril Formation".

Some ten parties from the pharmaceutical industry and academic institutions take part in the European consortium. BioArctic has obtained financial support for a postgraduate studentship linked to Uppsala University in Sweden. This enables BioArctic to contribute to the education of young researchers. At the same time, the company may get access to a technology that can lead to even better diagnostic tools and biomarkers as well as PET ligands for the protein alpha-synuclein. The research initiative contributes to the development of new treatments for Parkinson's disease.

"This European research consortium is an innovative way to support the education of the researchers of tomorrow. We are looking forward to the collaboration and we are grateful for this grant. The grant is also an external validation of BioArctic's research and it inspires us to stay at the forefront in the areas of diagnostic tools and biomarkers for Parkinson's disease. New knowledge gained from this collaboration initiative will add to the development of disease-modifying treatments for the benefit of the Parkinson patients," says Gunilla Osswald, CEO of BioArctic.

This information was submitted for publication at 08:00 a.m. CET on November 12, 2018.

About Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disease of the nervous system that is associated with reduced levels of dopamine in the brain. Tremor and movement disturbances are the pathological hallmarks of the disease, but it is also characterized by dementia, depression, sleep disturbance and other symptoms. As the second most common neurodegenerative disease, after Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease affects a large number of individuals and their families. Many who fall ill are still at working age resulting in considerable financial consequences for the individual and society. Patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from an extensive loss of nerve cells in a part of the brain associated with movement. These nerve cells contain the so called Lewy bodies consisting of aggregated misfolded alpha-synuclein that are associated with cell loss. Alpha-synuclein aggregates can also be released from the cells and travel to neighboring cells, whereby the disease is spread from one area of the brain to another. Research has shown that mutations in the alpha-synuclein gene lead to Parkinson's disease.

About PET
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technology based on the use of isotope-labeled preparations, so-called PET ligands, that enable the creation of three-dimensional images of for example the metabolism and how the various preparations bind to different structures in the body.

About Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is European Union's framework program for research and innovation. The program is the world's largest initiative for research and innovation and has a total budget of approx. EUR 80 billion.

About the research project
This research project will address an unmet scientific need and develop an alpha-synuclein targeted PET ligands for Parkinson's disease (PD), which is urgently needed for drug development and clinical diagnosis. Alpha-synuclein deposition is thought to be the hallmark for PD. A successful ligand has the potential to monitor disease-modifying PD therapeutic trials, and/or to diagnose PD at an earlier stage.

The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 813528.

About the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) provide grants for all stages of researchers' careers – be they doctoral candidates or highly experienced researchers – and encourage transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility. The MSCA enable research-focused organizations (universities, research centers and companies) to host talented foreign researchers and to create strategic partnerships with leading institutions worldwide.
Innovative Training Networks (ITN) is one type of MSCA. They support competitively selected joint research training and/or doctoral programs, implemented by European partnerships of universities, research institutions and non-academic organizations.

About BioArctic
BioArctic AB (publ) is a Swedish research-based biopharma company focusing on disease modifying treatments and reliable biomarkers and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The company also develops a potential treatment for Complete Spinal Cord Injury. BioArctic focuses on innovative treatments in areas with high unmet medical needs. The company was founded in 2003 based on innovative research from Uppsala University, Sweden. Collaborations with universities are of great importance to the company together with our strategically important global partners in the Alzheimer (Eisai) and Parkinson (AbbVie) projects. The project portfolio is a combination of fully funded projects run in partnership with global pharmaceutical companies and innovative in-house projects with significant market- and out-licensing potential.
BioArctic's B-share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap (ticker: BIOA B). For more information about BioArctic, please visit www.bioarctic.com.

For more information, please contact
Gunilla Osswald, PhD, CEO, BioArctic AB
E-mail: gunilla.osswald@bioarctic.se
Telephone: +46-8-695-69-30

Christina Astrén, IR & Communications Director, BioArctic AB
E-mail: christina.astren@bioarctic.se
Telephone: +46-70-835-43-36

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