Optimer partnership target heart & skeletal muscle

Aptamer Group PLC

26 October 2026

 

26 October 2026

Aptamer Group plc

("Aptamer", the "Company" or the "Group")

Optimer® collaboration targets heart and skeletal muscle

Research partnership with Pharmahungary Group to develop Optimer® delivery vehicles targeting heart and skeletal muscle

Cost-sharing structure where each party funds its own work and retains its own intellectual property

Pharmahungary Group to run in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies assessing targeting, efficacy, and preliminary safety

On successful completion, Aptamer and Pharmahungary Group intend to jointly pursue licensing with pharmaceutical partners

Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), the developer of next‑generation synthetic binders delivering innovation to the life sciences industry, announces a new research collaboration with Pharmahungary Group, a biotechnology company focused on developing microRNA (miRNA) therapeutics with a track record of preclinical development projects for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The partnership aims to generate preclinical evidence to support future pharmaceutical partnering opportunities for targeted delivery of therapeutics to heart and skeletal muscle.

The collaboration is structured on a cost-sharing basis. Aptamer will fund development and validation of the targeting system and manufacture Optimer®-conjugates with Pharmahungary Group’s miRNA. Pharmahungary Group will then fund the preclinical studies using the manufactured conjugate. A comparable preclinical study package would typically cost in the range of £300,000 to £500,000. Accordingly, the collaboration will not require Aptamer to incur any unbudgeted expenditure or alter its current cash runway projections. In return, Aptamer will gain access to a package of in vivo animal study data, eliminating the need to fund this work from its own budget. Aptamer retains full ownership of its Optimer® delivery vehicles and any associated intellectual property, and will own 50% of the combined Optimer®-miRNA therapeutic developed under the collaboration.

Pharmahungary Group was founded by Professor Péter Ferdinandy, a seven-time highly cited researcher and the Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Pharmacology, an internationally recognised expert in cardioprotection and miRNA therapeutics. The company has more than 25 years of cardiovascular research experience with over 350 preclinical projects completed for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and has selected Optimer® technology to deliver its patented cardioprotective miRNAs beyond the liver.

Approved oligonucleotide drugs act mainly in the liver, and no targeted delivery system for cardiac or skeletal muscle cells has yet been approved. Delivery vehicles that can reach these tissues could be relevant to treat a leading cause of death worldwide, ischaemic heart disease, and associated conditions such as acute myocardial infarction and heart failure, as well as untreatable muscle disorders such as sarcopenia. This represents a significant opportunity in the fast-growing oligonucleotide therapeutics market, forecast to reach US$17.7 billion by 2030.¹

Aptamer is developing targeted delivery for oligonucleotide therapeutics beyond the liver, with programmes directed to fibrotic tissue, the kidney and across the blood-brain barrier. This collaboration extends that work with another two assets targeting heart and skeletal muscle. Pharmaceutical partners require animal data before licensing delivery vehicles, and this collaboration aims to generate that data. Together with Aptamer’s other programmes, this will add to a growing portfolio of in vivo data packs across a range of tissues, further demonstrating the platform.

Aptamer will develop two Optimer® delivery vehicles directed to heart muscle cells and skeletal muscle and will manufacture lead conjugates carrying Pharmahungary Group’s therapeutic miRNA. Pharmahungary Group will run the preclinical programme, including in vitro assays and in vivo studies, to assess targeting, preliminary safety and efficacy in disease-relevant animal models.

Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer of Aptamer Group, commented: “Pharmahungary Group is a leading authority in cardiac miRNA, and we are delighted that it has chosen Optimer® technology to tackle the delivery of its therapeutic payloads and meet a currently unmet need in the space. This collaboration represents excellent progress against our post-fundraising goals and is a capital-efficient way to generate the preclinical data packages partners need to evaluate our platform, while retaining full ownership of our Optimer® delivery vehicle, and to develop licensable assets, which are core to our new strategy.

 “We look forward to working closely with Professor Ferdinandy and his team, and to updating shareholders as the programme progresses.”

Professor Péter Ferdinandy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pharmahungary Group, commented: “We have over two decades of experience developing cardioprotective miRNAs and the preclinical models needed to test them. Delivering miRNA therapeutics into heart and skeletal muscle cells remains a key challenge for the field. We chose Aptamer because of its promising data on targeted oligonucleotide delivery, and because Optimer® delivery vehicles, as oligonucleotides themselves, are a natural match for miRNA payloads.

“Our goal is to generate the in vivo evidence needed to take this combined approach to pharmaceutical partners.”

1Markets and Markets. Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Market Size, Growth, Share & Trends Analysis. 2026. Report Code: BT 9880

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For further information, please contact: 

Aptamer Group plc   Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited - Nominated Adviser     Andrew Emmott / Dillon Wall	[phone]
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - Joint Broker Geoff Nash / Seamus Fricker / Joe Smith	[phone]
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited - Broker     Andrew Thacker / Guy McDougall	[phone]
Northstar Communications Limited - Investor Relations Sarah Hollins	[phone]

About Aptamer Group

Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA) develops Optimer® binders, next-generation synthetic alternatives to antibodies that offer high specificity, improved stability, lower cost and access to targets beyond the reach of conventional modalities.

The Group operates a dual-revenue model, generating near-term revenues through fee-for-service discovery programmes while building a portfolio of proprietary therapeutic assets designed to create long-term value through licensing, royalties and supply agreements.

Aptamer is strategically focused on two of the most significant challenges in modern drug development: targeting "undruggable" proteins and enabling delivery of therapeutics to tissues beyond the liver. Its proprietary Optimer® platform, supported by more than 15 years of discovery data and an expanding AI-enabled discovery engine, is designed to accelerate the identification of high-quality binders against challenging biological targets.

The Group's internal pipeline includes targeted delivery vehicles for oligonucleotide therapeutics and radioligand therapy programmes, with upcoming in vivo studies expected to support future partnering and licensing opportunities.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in York, UK, Aptamer works with many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, combining platform expertise, proprietary data and therapeutic innovation to create shareholder value.

About Pharmahungary Group

Pharmahungary Group is an innovative R&D company with two missions:

1. develop novel miRNA therapeutics (oligonucleotide drugs) for cardiovascular, oncology, and musculoskeletal diseases supported by AI-driven drug discovery tools

2. provide services globally focusing on preclinical models of cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, inflammation, oncology, and musculoskeletal diseases from cells to large animals.

For more information on Pharmahungary’s in-house R&D projects and innovative R&D services see www.pharmahungary.com.

 

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