Sprint Bioscience Starts a Diabetes Program

Sprint Bioscience AB (STO:SPRINT)

Sprint Bioscience has signed a collaboration agreement with the Lundberg Laboratory for Diabetes Research at Gothenburg University in which Sprint Bioscience will develop drug candidates against a new target protein that is central to the development of type 2 diabetes. Sprint Bioscience has in fact already identified series of substances and a chemistry program is in place. The molecules will be evaluated in disease models developed for diabetes research at the Lundberg Laboratory. The aim is to initiate out-licensing of the project in 2016, when the identity of the target molecules will also be made known.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased at an exponential rate. There are more than 380 million people living with T2D and 470 million are estimated to be afflicted in the year 2035*. The latest estimates reveal an increased trend of developing diabetes earlier in life, a trend that is very worrisome for future generations.

Although there are many well-established T2D treatments on the market, no drug has so far shown sustainable efficacy in the treatment of T2D. This unmet need represents a great opportunity for drug developers.

The project manager at the Lundberg Laboratory will be Associate Professor Margit Mahlapuu who has extensive experience in diabetes research. Margit has combined research within academia and industry and in both small and large companies. Her research has focused on the signaling pathways involved in insulin resistance, the underlying cause of T2D.

"I look forward to working with Sprint Bioscience in this project. Together, we will develop inhibitors that affect a central mechanism for insulin resistance" says Margit Mahlapuu.

The Diabetes research area is a good fit for the Sprint Bioscience portfolio. There are many links between diabetes and cancer. It has long been known that T2D increases cancer risk, but also that the prolonged use of certain diabetes medications may reduce the risk of cancer. The company has good experience both of the class of drug targets covered by the collaboration, and of the metabolic processes that we want to influence.

"To combine frontline research with our platform for fast and resource efficient development of drugs, together with the Lundberg Laboratory for Diabetes Research, provides great opportunities for Sprint Bioscience to develop a new cure for T2D" says Sprint Bioscience CEO, Anders Åberg.

The project is run by Sprint Bioscience according to the model that the company has established for early drug discovery. Work on the project is already underway and, thanks to the collaboration with GU, has had a very good start. The collaboration agreement will not involve any additional external costs. Sprint Bioscience owns all rights to the project.

*International Diabetes Federation, 2013 (IDF)

Sprint Bioscience AB (publ) is part of the new Swedish drug development industry. The company has the goal of improving the time- and resource-efficiency of developing drug candidates for the global pharmaceutical market within the cancer and diabetes areas. Sprint Bioscience is based in Stockholm. Sprint Bioscience is listed on First North, trading under the ticker SPRINT. Further information can be found on the company’s web site at www.sprintbioscience.se. Certified Advisor is Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag, www.penser.se.

Sprint Bioscience ¦ Novum¦141 57 Huddinge ¦ Sweden ¦ 46-(0)8-411 44 55 ¦info@sprintbioscience.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151129005070/en/