Secarna Pharmaceuticals to present two posters showcasing the innovation potential of the LNAplus platform at the 19^th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutic Society

Munich/Martinsried, Germany, October 17, 2023 – Secarna Pharmaceuticals GmbH & Co. KG (“Secarna”), a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery and development of next-generation antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies to address challenging or previously undruggable targets via its LNAplus platform, will present data showcasing the continuous progress and innovation generated by the Company’s cutting-edge LNAplus platform at the 19^th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutic Society (OTS). The meeting will be held October 22-25, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

The two posters to be presented are:

Characterization of immunostimulatory potential of LNA-modified antisense oligonucleotides
Poster: 201
Presenter: Irene Riera Tur, PhD
Poster Session I: Monday, October 23

This poster will present strategies to early recognize and prevent side effects in oligonucleotide-treated patients through immune stimulation via the TLR9 pathway. This pathway, which has the physiological function to rapidly recognize infections and initiate an early immune response, can be activated by therapeutic oligonucleotides. TLR9 activity of oligonucleotides depends on their sequence, but chemical modifications, such as LNA modification, also impact their immunostimulatory potential. The presentation will discuss various cell-based assays and strategies aimed at early identification and mitigation of potential immunostimulatory oligonucleotides in the drug discovery process.

In silico and in vitro investigation of gene targetability and knockdown kinetics by LNA-modified antisense oligonucleotides
Poster: 160
Presenter: Sven Michel, PhD
Poster Session II: Tuesday, October 24

The selection of ASOs by Secarna using the Company’s proprietary Oligofyer^TM bioinformatics system has been shown to result in a high yield of highly active and safe molecules. Using specific data-generated tool ASOs, the poster will provide deeper insights into the factors influencing ASO activity and target efficiency. The relationship between knockdown kinetics and the potency of ASOs will also be discussed.

About OTS conference
The Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS) Annual Meeting is a forum for the realization of the Society's mission and goals, to foster academic and industry-based research for the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics. The meeting serves as a continuum for dialogue and discussion among industry, academia and health authorities to educate and share progress on the basic research and therapeutic development of oligonucleotides, including antisense, siRNA, immunostimulatory and aptamer applications, RNA/DNA editing and mRNA therapeutics as well as basic RNA research. Leaders in the field from across the globe alongside students (the Next Gen) present in both general session and poster sessions.

About Secarna’s proprietary drug discovery and development platform, LNAplus
Secarna’s proprietary, customized LNAplus platform is being applied to the discovery, testing and selection of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for pre-clinical and clinical development. LNAplus encompasses all aspects of drug discovery and pre-clinical development and has proven to be fast, reliable, scalable, and efficient, enabling the discovery of novel antisense-based therapies for challenging or currently undruggable targets.^{The platform includes the powerful proprietary Oligofyer™ bioinformatics system, a streamlined, high efficiency screening process, including Secarna’s proprietary LNA-Vit(r)ox™ safety test system, as well as target-specific functional assays. Secarna’s platform and ASOs have been validated by numerous in-house projects as well as in several academic and industry collaborations.}

About Secarna Pharmaceuticals GmbH & Co. KG
Secarna Pharmaceuticals is the leading independent European next-generation antisense drug discovery and development company addressing high unmet medical needs in immuno-oncology and immunology, as well as viral, neurodegenerative and cardiometabolic diseases. Secarna’s mission is to maximize the performance and output of its proprietary LNAplus antisense oligonucleotide discovery platform, as well as to develop highly specific, safe, and efficacious best-in-class antisense therapies. With over 20 discovery and development programs, including both proprietary pipeline projects and partnered programs, Secarna focuses on targets in indications where antisense-based approaches have clear potential benefits over other therapeutic modalities. www.secarna.com