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138. Bull, Bear & Beyond – Herantis Pharma executive interview
5 Plays2 months ago
In this interview, we speak to Antti Vuolanto, CEO of Herantis Pharma. We discuss the company’s recently announced clinical data from its Phase Ib trial in Parkison's disease patients, what to expect from the upcoming biomarker data and the next steps for Herantis’s lead programme HER-096, a peptide therapeutic.
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About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’
Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations with senior executives and from our own team of experts from across industries, exploring strategy, innovation, and the opportunities shaping their markets and 60-second pieces are a compressed summary of content designed to convey our message in a single, easily shareable hit.
About Edison:
Edison is a content-led IR business. We believe quality investment content should inform all investors, not just brokers. Our mission: engage and build bigger, better-informed investor audiences for our clients.
Edison covers 50+ investment trusts, read about them here: https://www.edisongroup.com/equities/investment-companies/
Original interview published on 31/10/2025 and reposted as a podcast
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Transcript
Introduction to Antti Valanta and HER096
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to another Edison TV executive interview. I'm Aaron Atkar, healthcare care analyst here at Edison. And today we're joined by Antti Valanta, chief exec of Herantis Pharma.
00:00:18
Speaker
Today, we're going to be digging into the company's phase 1B trial results, which marks an important step closer for lead assets, HER096, towards disease modification for Parkinson's disease.
Phase 1B Trial Results Discussion
00:00:29
Speaker
So welcome, Antti.
00:00:30
Speaker
Thank you. So to get straight into it, could you outline for us the key takeaways from the Phase 1B trial results? Yeah, so ah Phase 1B trial was the first one where we treated Parkinson's patients with HER-096. And the the results overall were very much in line with what we expected from the from the trial. So on the safety side, as expected, we didn't see any systemic ah safety issues.
00:01:01
Speaker
The main issue related to the treatment was ah mild and and transient injection site um observations that is according to what we have seen already earlier in earlier studies. So ah safety tolerability, great results.
Understanding HER096 in the CNS
00:01:21
Speaker
Then we also had pharmacokinetics. And there, of course, the main objective there was to... um understand better the behavior of HER96, especially in CNS, as measuring from the cereprospinal fluid.
00:01:36
Speaker
and And again, um the behavior was very much aligned with our expectations. So we were able to demonstrate that the maximum concentration of HER96 in CNS reaches the same levels that we have um observed to be optimally optimal ones in the preclical studies.
00:01:55
Speaker
And that was a similar result for the total exposure. So so again, very much aligned with our expectations and and really supporting our um to move the program towards the phase two efficacy trials. Fantastic. So we understand that more detailed biomarker data are anticipated before the end of the
Biomarker Data and Clinical Implications
00:02:17
Speaker
year. So what further insights can we expect from this?
00:02:20
Speaker
Yeah, and on the biomarker side, um the the main um purpose is to demonstrate the the um that we have been started the biological response to the treatment. So um studying from both CSF and and plasma,
00:02:38
Speaker
and to show that we have affected a target biology and we have in a way initiated the cascade that hopefully eventually is is translated into clinical benefit.
00:02:51
Speaker
Excellent.
Foundations for Phase 2 and Partnerships
00:02:52
Speaker
So could you update us now perhaps on how these trial results play into your plans for a partnership partnership opportunities in Parkinson's disease? Yeah, so of course, um being able to first of all conduct the studies according to the preset timelines as we have done throughout the HERN96 development, and it's ah it's a very important sign for the for the pharma collaboration. um Of course, good safety data, expected PK gives a great foundation for phase two and for partnerships. And of course, then the biomarker data that would potentially show the first signs of biological response to the treatment would also be, in a way, um um helping us in in in in in these discussions. But overall, we are really happy and we
00:03:44
Speaker
already have seen that there is a great interest among the pharma industry to to continue the dialogue with us. And as as mentioned earlier, the objective of the companies is ah um to have even a a but partnership agreement before the phase two efficacy trial. But that's, of course, something that to be seen um during the next ah half a year or so.
HER096's Unique Mechanism and Market Impact
00:04:07
Speaker
Okay, so as a recap now, could you perhaps briefly summarize the mechanism of action of HER96 and remind us of the market opportunity for a disease modifier? Yeah, so HER96 has a very unique mechanism of action. So currently, no other companies addressing the same biology as us who are in in clinical development. And our target is...
00:04:32
Speaker
a pathway called unfolded protein response pathway in the in that in the neurons. So basically we are addressing the pro protein balance in the cells and cell stress. And this very much linked also to the alpha-synuclein pathology.
00:04:50
Speaker
And thereby we can, in a way... um regenerate the the activity of the the neurons that are um degenerating, so they are losing their ah functional phenotype. We can bring them back to to functionally ah fully functional neurons. And at the same time, we are addressing the same pathway in the glial cells. So we are also addressing the neuroinflammation. So we are actually hitting quite broadly the the basic um
00:05:23
Speaker
and pathological mechanism and behind and the the Parkinson's disease. And if you look at the the market opportunity, as we all know currently, there are no disease-modifying therapies on the market.
00:05:38
Speaker
The pharmaceutical market size for Parkinson's disease is symptomatic therapies are currently like between five to six billion US dollars. And it's expected to grow at least up to 13 billion until 2034.
00:05:56
Speaker
And of course, we believe that Herantis is in the forefront of the development in both in terms of timing, but also in terms of the mechanism of action. So how broadly we can actually address the pathology.
00:06:08
Speaker
There are other um other companies developing disease-modifying therapies, but we believe that we have a very clear competitive edge ah in what we are doing. So we believe that once we have been able to show the disease-modifying effect, there is a like huge market opportunity in Parkinson's disease for HER96.
00:06:32
Speaker
OK, so that sounds super exciting for for Parkinson's
Expanding HER096's Applications Beyond Parkinson's
00:06:35
Speaker
disease. But looking beyond that, could you perhaps elaborate on how the mechanism might have applicability to other indications, say, beyond Parkinson's?
00:06:43
Speaker
Yes, that's a very important question as well. So that the target mechanism unfolding protein response pathway and the imbalance there is is by no means specific for Parkinson's disease. And this is actually shared with many other neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer's. And there is actually already...
00:07:03
Speaker
scientific literature available for the for the CDNF, so the neurotrophic factor from which we derived HER096 in these indications.
00:07:15
Speaker
but Similarly, the proteostasis and protein balance is very important in other indications as well. So we believe that we have also great opportunities beyond only CMS.
00:07:30
Speaker
And we, of course, believe that once we have ah shown efficacy in in Parkinson's disease, we can then really have resources to address these other indications, which might even be like bigger commercial opportunities than Parkinson's.
00:07:45
Speaker
That itself is already a huge opportunity for us. Amazing. So look, we're really excited to follow the
Future Plans and Strategic Considerations
00:07:51
Speaker
progress to come. And before we wrap up, I wonder if you could just summarize the most important next steps for Herantis at this stage.
00:07:58
Speaker
Yeah, so of course, um finalizing the phase 1b data analysis to have the biomarker data is on the short term. Of course, on the longer term, preparations for a phase two efficacy trial is is the key. And in addition to that, of course, we need to write find the right resources to run the phase two efficacy trial. And that, of course, includes um progressing with the partnering discussions. Of course, we are also looking at potentially a fundraise, but then we are looking at soft financing opportunities like EU. And then, of course, we continue the dialogue with the with the leading patient organizations who already have supported us, so the Michael J. Fox Foundation and and Parkinson's UK.
00:08:46
Speaker
And I'm really convinced that we will have a a very good package um at some point of time during ah next spring that that create provides us the opportunity to launch the phase two program towards the end of next year.
00:09:02
Speaker
And that, of course, would put us in a very good position as there are not too many companies doing a serious like phase two efficacy trial in Parkinson's disease, disease modification. so So we are really looking forward to to be in that position next year.
Conclusion and Further Resources
00:09:19
Speaker
Fantastic. Well, that brings the interview for today to a close. But if our audience would like to learn more, please refer to the Edison website where we have our research on Herantus freely accessible.
00:09:28
Speaker
Antti, thanks very much for taking the time to speak today. Thank you.