RNA Therapies Hold The Power To Transform Treatment For Numerous Ailments, But Delivering These Remains Problematic – Will This Biotech Change That?
Altamira develops RNA-based therapeutics for extrahepatic targets. The company also has legacy programs in allergy and viral infections and inner ear disorders, which it intends to partner on as it plans to focus exclusively on the exciting opportunities in RNA.
RNA therapies are extremely effective for a host of indications. However, actually delivering that therapy is still a hurdle the medical community is attempting to solve. Altamira has developed its “OligoPhore” and “SemaPhore” technologies to change this.
RNA therapies are extremely effective for a host of indications. However, actually delivering that therapy is still a hurdle the medical community is attempting to solve. Altamira has developed its “OligoPhore” and “SemaPhore” technologies to change this.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Thomas, good morning.
00:06 - Good morning, Sunay.
00:07 - How are you doing this fine morning,
00:09 especially with the news that you dropped?
00:11 We'll talk about that here in a second.
00:13 - Yeah, I'm doing very well, thank you.
00:15 And indeed, very good news today.
00:18 - Well, I'll tell you what,
00:20 we've got some folks that might be unfamiliar
00:22 with the company.
00:23 So before we get to the news,
00:24 if you could explain it to me like I'm five,
00:26 what is it that your company does?
00:28 - Yeah, so Altamira is active in two areas,
00:33 in particular, RNA delivery.
00:36 So that's going to be the future for the company.
00:39 We feel this is a great place to be.
00:42 This is where the music plays, a lot of music plays.
00:45 It's not just about vaccines.
00:47 I mean, there are many more things coming up in RNA
00:51 that will revolutionize human medicine.
00:54 So we have a delivery system based on nanoparticles
00:58 that can help to deliver RNA to cells.
01:02 And the legacy part of the business,
01:06 and that's where we are dealing with nasal sprays.
01:09 And here is just one of those.
01:13 We have one nasal spray that is used
01:16 for treating dizziness, vertigo.
01:19 That's a problem many people experience,
01:22 especially as they get older.
01:24 And we have this other nasal spray,
01:26 which is called Benchio,
01:28 which is a drug-free nasal spray
01:31 that helps to protect against allergens,
01:34 pollen, cat hair, house dust mites,
01:37 and which was also actually developed here for the pandemic
01:42 because it also helps to keep away viruses.
01:46 But for the moment, we are focusing here on allergy.
01:49 - Now, I used to sell mattresses a while back,
01:51 and I remember whenever folks would kind of try the mattress
01:54 and get back up a little too quick,
01:55 they would deal with vertigo
01:57 and different conditions as well.
01:59 So that's definitely interesting to hear.
02:00 Now, you mentioned the Benchio nasal spray,
02:03 which is the information that you had talked about
02:05 'cause additional data from a clinical trial
02:07 is what you had dropped in news in terms of today.
02:10 Sounds exciting.
02:11 What's special about it?
02:12 And what's the game plan with this product here?
02:16 - Yeah, so, I mean, just very briefly,
02:19 every day you breathe in,
02:22 you inhale hundreds or thousands of gallons of air,
02:26 and with that come millions of viruses
02:29 and dirt particles and everything.
02:31 And your nose is actually capable to deal with that
02:35 with the nasal mucosa and with the immune system.
02:38 Now, this may break down or be overhelmed.
02:42 And what we are doing,
02:43 we are applying an extra layer of protection.
02:46 And that is, Benchio applies a small,
02:51 very thin film.
02:54 You see, it does not drop.
02:56 And that stays for a couple of hours on your mucosa
03:00 and captures actually those pathogens.
03:03 And then that's cleared, you swallow it, it's gone.
03:08 And we tested it in a total of four trials.
03:13 Now, the largest one, that's the most recent one.
03:16 This morning, we could announce the further information,
03:21 further data showing terrific efficacy.
03:25 We are close to medicated sprays,
03:27 but there are no corticoids inside or no antihistamines.
03:32 It's just pure mineral-based film, protective film,
03:36 and no preservatives.
03:38 And so you have great efficacy,
03:40 actually without paying a price here in tolerability.
03:45 So this is the last piece here of evidence.
03:47 Now, the plans for Benchio are,
03:50 it's already on the market in a couple of countries.
03:52 We want to partner it with bigger guys
03:55 in the OTC consumer health space,
03:58 because we are not an OTC consumer health company.
04:02 So this needs to go into the right hands,
04:06 properly positioned, properly pushed into the market
04:09 and make it available to patients.
04:11 That's the plan.
04:12 And one of the countries I believe is Scandinavia
04:14 for Benchio, 'cause I believe it was,
04:16 you had an exclusive agreement in July
04:19 with Pharma Nordic AS for the marketing and distribution
04:22 of Benchio in Scandinavia.
04:24 How does that partnership kind of benefit Altamira
04:28 at the plans and the legacy, including Benchio,
04:31 and what can kind of investors expect down the road?
04:34 Yeah, so we started partnering last year,
04:38 and first we set up a number of Asian countries.
04:43 We have the largest collaboration so far
04:46 with a company called Nuance Pharma,
04:48 and they will cover also the Chinese markets.
04:51 They're currently in Hong Kong.
04:53 We have the product on sale
04:55 in several Southeast Asian countries.
04:59 Now in Europe, the collaboration with Pharma Nordic,
05:03 that's the first one,
05:05 and they plan to launch in the first quarter.
05:08 Scandinavia is a great area region for nasal sprays.
05:13 The team from Pharma Nordic,
05:14 these are all very seasoned executives from the industry.
05:18 They're very keen on getting this product launched.
05:21 I mean, they all know allergy sufferers,
05:25 many of them, they have tried out a lot of things
05:28 and they did not really work,
05:30 and so they are looking for something that is,
05:33 let's say, more natural, less irritating,
05:38 and still provides a lot of efficacy.
05:40 So we are very excited about that collaboration.
05:45 Other collaborations are in the pipeline,
05:47 and of course, the big, big prize will be the US market
05:51 where we have FDA clearance.
05:54 And so here we have been in discussions
05:57 for a collaboration,
06:00 far-reaching collaboration for a while.
06:02 Now, this latest news, this latest data
06:06 will be a very important element here
06:08 to actually get this closer to the finishing line.
06:11 Yeah, you saw me kind of peek over my shoulder here
06:13 for a second.
06:14 I was looking for the nasal spray,
06:15 like I mentioned earlier on the top of the show.
06:17 Sometimes I've got to use it.
06:18 I know my best friend kind of suffers with cloggage
06:21 and different things like that herself.
06:22 So definitely a story that I'm personally invested with.
06:26 I do want to kind of pivot and see what your plans are
06:29 for the company to become a pure play
06:31 in the RNA delivery company,
06:33 and especially how this had kind of changed
06:36 the business model, but more importantly,
06:38 looking into the future once again,
06:40 what investors or potential investors can expect,
06:43 let's say two, three years from now.
06:45 Yeah, sure.
06:46 Okay, I mean, Bentrio is great.
06:48 We have another nasal spray.
06:50 Well, for vertigo, dizziness, also great,
06:53 but I mean, you need to focus.
06:55 Investors want to see a focused company,
06:58 and that's what we are in the process of becoming.
07:01 So this is also why we changed our ticker symbol
07:04 from ears to cyto, which is Greek for cell.
07:08 And so here the plan is that we are licensing out
07:13 a delivery platform.
07:16 So as mentioned, we have nanoparticles.
07:18 These nanoparticles are formulated with a peptide plus RNA,
07:23 and it can be mRNA, it can be siRNA, any type of RNA.
07:28 And the important thing is it delivers the RNA
07:31 to parts of the body, which are not just the liver.
07:35 Typically, when you have lipid nanoparticles,
07:37 so like in the vaccines, well, these go to the liver.
07:42 Now, fine, if you want to go to the liver,
07:45 but think about oncology, think about tumors,
07:50 think about inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis
07:55 or rheumatoid arthritis.
08:00 And so there you need to go beyond the liver.
08:04 Our technology can do that.
08:05 And once inside the liver, the LNPs,
08:10 they deliver the cargo.
08:12 Once inside the cell, outside the liver,
08:17 our technology, it actually delivers much, much more
08:21 than the LNPs actually can deliver.
08:23 So we have here two different advantages, very important.
08:28 Now, we are seeking to out-license this
08:31 and have a business model, which is,
08:34 like in the gold rush, picks and shovels,
08:37 rather than developing drugs ourselves.
08:40 Now, this is much less cash intensive.
08:43 Obviously, this is the way to go.
08:46 We do have, however, two flagship programs.
08:49 One is in oncology, the other one is in rheumatoid arthritis,
08:54 where we are showing, okay, how the technology works.
08:58 Then we will seek to out-license that,
09:01 partner it after the IND or after phase one
09:04 and become totally focused on the platform.
09:08 - Yeah.
09:09 - Now for- - That's our guide, yeah.
09:11 - Now for investors, okay.
09:13 I mean, we are right now in a transition period.
09:16 So that is, we still have those legacy assets
09:18 to be partnered.
09:19 Well, we are getting closer and closer to that.
09:22 And then once we will have shed that part,
09:26 we will be a pure play.
09:28 Investors tell us, especially institutional investors,
09:32 okay, we like to see you become
09:36 a fully dedicated pure play.
09:39 R&A is great.
09:40 And well, we want to build shareholder value,
09:44 the value of the company.
09:45 We see exciting times ahead in R&A.
09:48 So we have on one side,
09:49 unlocking the intrinsic value of the legacy assets.
09:53 On the other hand, in the future,
09:55 you have the upside here in R&A.
09:57 And I think this is a great upside.
10:00 - Well, hey, congratulations again
10:01 on the great news that you dropped this morning.
10:03 And I look forward to more conversations
10:05 as the trials progress.
10:07 And I wanna thank you again, Thomas,
10:09 for hopping on the show with us.
10:10 - Okay, my pleasure.
10:12 Thank you.
10:13 (upbeat music)
10:15 (upbeat music)