Biotech group strikes deal with genetic medicines company

Biotech business, Aptamer Group, which develops Optimer ® binders that can be used as synthetic alternatives to antibodies, has struck a material agreement with a company developing genetic medicines.

Under the terms of the deal, York-based Aptamer will use its proprietary platform to discover Optimer binders to enable the specific targeting of genetic medicines to specific cell types.

The business will receive up to £553,000 in development fees for discovering and developing the Optimer binders.

Work is expected to begin shortly subject to receiving target materials from the customer and is expected to be completed within the current financial year.

 Dr Arron Tolley, chief technical officer of Aptamer, said: “This project builds on the work we have been doing in drug delivery since being refunded and supports the need for new delivery modalities within the genetic medicines space.

“We believe the properties of Optimers make them suitable for developing precision-guided therapies and that Optimer-targeted therapies may represent the next stage in targeted drug delivery.”