Akthelia featured in Icelandic business newspaper Viðskiptablaðið
Viðskiptablaðið, a leading Icelandic business newspaper, has published an extensive article on Akthelia’s current position and future plans.
The article, based on an interview with Akthelia’s CEO, Egill Másson, covers the company’s plans to start human studies with its drug candidate AKT-011. Egill states that moving from preclinical research into clinical trials is always a big step for drug development companies and will create new opportunities for financing and collaboration with international pharmaceutical companies.
Promising results from Icelandic research
AKT-011 is intended to protect the lining of the gastrointestinal tract from damage during cancer treatment. Such damage is a common complication of chemotherapy, as these treatments target rapidly dividing cells. This includes cancer cells but also healthy cells, including those lining the gastrointestinal tract.
The article also highlights that the drug candidate, which is based on Icelandic research by Guðmundur Hrafn Guðmundsson and his team at the University of Iceland in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, has shown promising results in studies conducted so far, including animal studies.
Financing the move into clinical trials
Preparation for the next stage of research can be costly, but, as outlined in Viðskiptablaðið, financing is progressing well. Akthelia has already secured around ISK 180 million of the estimated ISK 295 million needed to prepare for clinical trials. Egill states that the focus so far has been on Icelandic investors. However, the scale of financing changes significantly when moving into clinical trials.
Akthelia estimates that the first two phases of clinical trials will cost around USD 22 million. Phase one will assess the drug’s safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics, initially in healthy volunteers and subsequently in a small group of cancer patients. Phase two will focus on a larger group of patients and assess whether the drug delivers the anticipated benefits.
Egill states that discussions with specialist investment funds are underway and that the company has received positive responses. One fund has expressed interest in leading the financing, although no final agreements are in place.
Aiming for a licensing agreement in 2029–2030
Discussing Akthelia’s future goals, Egill says that current plans envisage a licensing agreement with a larger pharmaceutical company between 2029 and 2030. He states that the potential market for AKT-011 is large, with the company estimating an annual
revenue opportunity exceeding USD 9 billion. However, that estimate covers more patient groups than those targeted in the first two phases of clinical trials.
Growing expertise in Icelandic life sciences
Finally, Egill discusses the development of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in Iceland. He describes life sciences as a core competence in Iceland and points to the many professionals now working across an increasingly diverse range of biotechnology companies.
He also discusses the growing knowledge of and interest in biotechnology companies among Icelandic investors. Developing drugs takes time and requires careful risk management, he explains, highlighting the importance of having more than one project in development, as Akthelia does.
