Archive: Company News

Company News: SuppreMol closes C round, receives grant

Munich-based biotech company SuppreMol this month announced the closing of a EUR15.5 M C round as well as receiving a EUR1.6 M public research grant.

The money will be used for the GMP production and further clinical studies of its lead candidate SM101, a recombinant, soluble, non-glycosylated version of the Fc gamma receptor IIb. SM101, which has been granted orphan drug designation in the European Union and in the US, has already entered Phase Ib/IIa clinical studies in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), with interim results anticipated for next year. In addition, the company plans to initiate a Phase IIa study in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) mid next year.

Moreover, SuppreMol will explore the therapeutic potential of  SM101 in Lupus Nephritis, a subcategory of this autoimmune disease affecting primarily the kidneys, and evaluate the compound in animal models for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Last not least, the funds will be used for the preclinical development of an anti-FcgRIIb monoclonal antibody, which, due to the different properties of this molecule compared to SM101, may have beneficial therapeutic potential in certain autoimmune diseases.

The C round was led by MIG AG with BioMedPartners AG  as co-lead. The other existing investors Santo Holding GmbH, KfW Mittelstandsbank, Bayern Kapital GmbH and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft also participated in the round which was joined by FCP Biotech Holding GmbH as new investor.

Company News: Probiodrug to Host Alzheimer Symposium

Despite considerable efforts to find a cure, Alzheimer’s disease  (AD) at present cannot be treated adequately, as there is no therapy available to significantly slow down disease progression, halt the disease or prevent it.
During the past years, researchers from the German-based biotech company Probiodrug have generated a compelling body of evidence that a particular variant of the notorious A beta peptide, which clumps together in the brain of AD patients to the typical plaques, is the major culprit. This variant is formed through a hitherto unknown reaction of a brain enzyme called glutaminyl cyclase (QC) and carries a pyroglutamic residue at its N-terminus. This renders it much more neurotoxic than the unmodified A-beta and also significantly reduces its solubility so that it starts aggregating.
Today, this hypothesis  is not an outsider opinion any more. On Monday, November 22, well-known Alzheimer researchers from Germany (Christian Haass, Stephan v. Hörsten, Marcus Fändrich, Thomas Bayer, Steffen Roßner, and Stephan Schilling), the U.S. (Cynthia Lemere, Lennart Mucke, Steve Jacobsen), Austria (Reinhold Schmidt), and Japan (Takaomi Saido) will meet at Probiodrug´s Halle (Saale) headquarter to provide the latest findings in the light of this hypothesis and to discuss novel therapeutic strategies. One of the approaches pursued by Probiodrug is inhibiting the formation of the toxic A-beta variant by small molecule inhibitors of the QC enzyme.
The public symposium entitled “Neurodegenerative Disorders During Aging – Contemporary Research and New Therapies” will take place on Weinberg Campus in Halle (Saale) on Monday, November 22, 2010, from 10am to 3pm. The detailed program can be found on Probiodrug‘s website.

Company News: biocrea acquires CNS pipeline and PDE inhibitor platform from Biotie

In a management-buyout, biocrea GmbH is taking over  the CNS pipeline and phosphodiesterase enzyme (PDE) inhibitor platform from Finnish Biotie Therapies Corp.

The company currently has a pipeline of three PDE inhibitors at research and preclinical stages, which will be advanced into clinical development by 2012. The compounds have already demonstrated efficacy in preclinical animal models for schizophrenia, memory impairment, depression and anxiety.

biocrea is based in Radebeul near Dresden, Germany, and will be led by Dr. Tom Kronbach, former CSO of Biotie.

More details can be found soon at biocrea’s website.

Company News: Micromet Announces IND for MT111 Trial Obtained by Partner MedImmune

Micromet, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI) today announced that MedImmune, licensee for Micromet’s MT111, plans to initiate a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers based on an investigational new drug (IND) application recently accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

MT111, also known as MEDI-565, is a BiTE® antibody designed to direct a patient’s T cells, the body’s most potent killer cells, against cancer cells that express carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). CEA is a protein found on the surface of a number of gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal, esophageal and gastric cancers.

MT111 will be Micromet’s third BiTE antibody to progress to clinical trials. Moreover, MedImmune’s decision demonstrates its ongoing confidence in the BiTE principle. Last year, MedImmune had decided to hand back to Micromet all rights to blinatumomab, a BiTE molecule in development for blood cancers.
Blinatumomab last months entered a pivotal trial in adult patients with MRD-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and a Phase II trial in adult patients with relapsed/refractory ALL.

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