University of Southern Denmark

Overview:
The University of Southern Denmark welcomed the first students onto the campus in Odense in September 1966, and things have been developing by leaps and bounds ever since. SDU now have five faculties with more than 32,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad, and more than 4,000 employees distributed across our main campus in Odense and regional campuses in Slagelse, Kolding, Esbjerg and Sønderborg.
SDU conducts world-class research and are one of the top fifty young universities in the world. Every day more than 2,000 researchers and 32,000 students build on the university’s reputation as a centre of academic excellence.
Research:
The University of Southern Denmark consists of five faculties:
<ul>
<li>Faculty of Engineering</li>
<li>Faculty of Health Sciences</li>
<li>Faculty of Science</li>
<li>Faculty of Business and Social Sciences</li>
<li>Faculty of Humanities</li>
</ul>
Every faculty consists of several departments, where the departments have a noticeable academic and economic independence and responsibility. Together departments and centres cover a wide range of research fields and educational opportunities.
Industry Partnerships:
SDU works purposefully to create dialogue between the university’s researchers and the surrounding society. To promote and make communication and knowledge exchange visible, faculties cooperate with various external parties. These activities are organised in centres. The centres serve to promote special purposes in research, education or knowledge exchange.
SDU RIO (SDU Research &amp; Innovation Organisation) supports collaboration between research, education, the business community and the public sector.

<h1 id="technology-overview">Technology Overview</h1>
Macrophages play a key role in many inflammatory, infectious and malignant diseases.
Very exclusively, macrophages express the hemoglobin scavenger receptor, CD163 on their surfaces. DELIVER PHARMA has produced and humanized an IgG4 monoclonal antibody, named Maclizumab, which binds CD163 leading to internalizing by macrophages. DELIVER PHARMAS lead compound, Maclizumab Dexamethasone, specifically targets and deliver the well-known and potent glucocorticoid to macrophages.
In the present form, a therapy based on Maclizumab Dexamethasone will be administered intravenously (IV). The initial focus for treatment with Maclizumab Dexamethasone is hepatic inflammation with steatohepatitis of AAH (acute alcoholic hepatitis) and NASH (non‑alcoholic steatohepatitis) being lead indications but its use for other inflammatory diseases is also an option.
<img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/assets.in-part.com/figures/NYbTXFvFRZiQ0Yt2rWjR_mac1.png" alt="Figure 1: Maclizumab Dexamethasone reduces inflammation 50-fold and shows no systemic side-effects in rats and pigs" />
<img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/assets.in-part.com/figures/49FeDeE4RIqq8WnSORWn_mac2.png" alt="Figure 2: Maclizumab Dexamethasone effectively inhibited progression of NASH, in terms of ballooning, fat accumulation and fibrosis as well as composite NASH score in the animal model of NASH" />
<h3 id="stage-of-development">Stage of Development</h3>
Strong Proof-of-Concept data have been obtained, showing 50-fold increase in potency of dexamethasone without increase in adverse effect. Based on favourable pharmacokinetics and large scale producibility Maclizumab dexamethasone is ready for late pre-clinical and clinical development. Next development will focus on GMP production of the antibody-drug batch, the safety/toxicity testing of the GMP produced Maclizumab dexamethasone and hereafter early clinical testing in patients suffering from acute alcoholic hepatitis.
<h1 id="opportunity">Opportunity</h1>
DELIVER PHARMA´s Maclizumab Dexamethasone is currently ready for development for the acute severe form of AAH as a first-line treatment. Maclizumab Dexamethasone could also potentially be offered to treat inflammation other therapeutic applications such as drug-induced hepatitis (e.g. caused by paracetamol), liver transplant rejection, autoimmune hepatitis and acute liver failure as well as for a range of other inflammatory diseases. There is a potential for broadening the platform by development of cancer drugs trough targeting of tumor associated macrophages.
SDU are looking for investment or partnering.

Figure 1: Maclizumab Dexamethasone reduces inflammation 50-fold and shows no systemic side-effects in rats and pigs

Figure 2: Maclizumab Dexamethasone effectively inhibited progression of NASH, in terms of ballooning, fat accumulation and fibrosis as well as composite NASH score in the animal model of NASH