TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Arch Biopartners Inc., (“Arch” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture: ARCH and OTCQB: ACHFF), a clinical stage company focused on the development of innovative technologies and novel therapeutics targeting organ inflammation, announced that an Arch scientist at the University of Calgary was awarded a Canadian Institute of Health Resources (CIHR) Project Grant worth $1,109,250 to further study the role of dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) in renal inflammation and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The CIHR grant entitled “A Multifaceted Function for Dipeptidase-1 in Kidney Injury” was awarded to a research team at the University of Calgary led Dr. Daniel Muruve. Dr. Muruve is also the Chief Science Officer of Arch. The new grant will help further understand the novel mechanism of action for DPEP-1 in kidney inflammation and its impact on CKD.

Quote from Dr. Daniel Muruve:

“The cause of kidney disease is generally unknown and as a result, there are currently few treatments for acute kidney injury (AKI) or CKD. The only treatment for kidney failure, at present, is life support using dialysis or kidney transplantation. A better approach is to find new treatments for AKI and CKD that prevent kidney failure altogether. We have strong evidence that inflammation and DPEP-1 play very important roles in kidney injury and disease. We plan to study exactly how DPEP-1 contributes to kidney disease, including CKD and how to best target its function therapeutically.”

About DPEP-1 and Organ Inflammation

A scientific team led by Arch scientists Dr. Donna Senger and Dr. Stephen Robbins first described a novel mechanism of action for organ inflammation in the journal Cell in August 2019. In the publication, the enzyme DPEP-1 was identified, for the first time, as a major neutrophil (white blood cell) adhesion receptor on the lung, liver and kidney endothelium. Their findings established DPEP-1 as a novel therapeutic target for diseases of these organs where inflammation plays a major role and demonstrated that DPEP-1 is the target of the Company’s lead drug candidate, LSALT Peptide. The publication can be found at the following link: “Dipeptidase-1 is an adhesion receptor for neutrophil recruitment in lungs and liver”

Subsequently in 2022, Dr. Muruve and his team explained in a publication in Science Advances how DPEP-1 regulates inflammation in the kidney. The publication can be found at the following link: “Dipeptidase-1 governs renal inflammation during ischemia reperfusion injury”

About Arch Biopartners

Arch Biopartners Inc. is a clinical stage company focused on the development of innovative technologies that have the potential to make a significant medical or commercial impact. Arch Biopartners is developing a pipeline of new drug candidates that inhibit inflammation in the lungs, liver, and kidneys via the dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) pathway, relevant for multiple medical indications.

For more information on Arch Biopartners, its technologies and other public documents Arch has filed on SEDAR, please visit www.archbiopartners.com 

The Company has 62,398,825 common shares outstanding.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this news release are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

The science and medical contents of this release have been approved by the Company’s Chief Science Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release