Benzinga | Jan 10, 2022 08:24AM EST

Aptorum Group Highlights Launch Of Its Oncology, Autoimmune Discovery, Development Platform Targeting Unmet Mutations, Novel Biomarkers

Aptorum Group Limited (NASDAQ:APM, PARIS:APM) ("Aptorum Group" or "Aptorum"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announces the launch of its oncology and autoimmune discovery and development platform with an initial focus on indications including, but not limited to, non-small cell lung cancer ("NSCLC") and autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, etc.

Under the platform, Aptorum has and will continue to conduct its screening process for novel first-in-class small molecule and PROTAC (Degrader) based drug candidates. On this basis, Aptorum is currently conducting optimisation for selected candidates as part of its small molecule library for major targets including, but not limited to EGFR, ALK, KRAS, p53 mutations. Aptorum has identified major unmet medical needs in third and fourth generation mutations, where applicable, for NSCLC for example and will be leveraging its existing drug discovery platform to deliver novel therapeutics for such targeted patient group.

Mr. Darren Lui, President and Executive Director, commented, "The exciting launch of our oncology and autoimmune platform, culminating with the discovery and development of small molecule and PROTAC based candidates, if achieved, will help address the significant unmet medical needs for patients suffering from NSCLC (and potentially other cancer types) and autoimmune diseases. For example, the current 5-year, average survival rate for NSCLC is 25%1, despite existing therapies available. Subject to further optimisation and development, we target to deliver these candidates to their respective clinical trial stage at the earliest for such unmet medical needs."

1 https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/lung-cancer-non-small-cell/statistics