Tag: antibody

Company News: Humabs BioMed Reports Clinical Milestone in MedImmune Partnership

– MedImmune Starts Phase I Clinical Trial to Investigate an Antibody Developed Under a Collaboration with Humabs for the Treatment of Influenza A –

Humabs BioMed SA, a leading Swiss antibody therapeutics company, today announced that a novel antibody developed through its proprietary Cellclone technology will be investigated for the treatment of influenza A in a Phase I trial being conducted by MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.

The investigational antibody, which has broad influenza-neutralizing properties, was isolated by Humabs from human memory B cells and further optimized for higher potency by MedImmune. The resulting antibody, MEDI8852, is exclusively licensed to MedImmune. The Phase I trial (NCT02350751) is designed to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of MEDI8852 in healthy adults.

MEDI8852 binds to a novel site in the hemagglutinin stem region that is shared in viruses from all 18 Influenza A subtypes. This region is highly conserved and is considered to be the “Achilles’ heel” of the virus.

Humabs discovers and develops antibodies directly derived from individuals whose immune systems have successfully responded to major diseases.  While the concept of isolating antibodies directly from recovered patients is not new, Humabs has developed a unique, comprehensive scheme for screening and selecting naturally occurring antibodies. Its proprietary technology platforms use immortalized donor B cells or cultured plasma cells with unmatched, stable secretion rates. This allows Humabs to perform sophisticated functional screens to rapidly discover antibodies able to opsonize or kill bacteria, block viral entry, or eliminate virus-infected and cancer cells. Instead of looking for binders to predefined targets, the Humabs functional approach is target-agnostic. Within weeks, it leads to ultra-potent antibodies, which can subsequently be developed for therapeutic, diagnostic, or research purposes, including the identification of novel targets or vaccines.

Company News: Micromet Presents Promising New Data on Anti-Cancer BiTE® Antibody Blinatumomab

Micromet has presented promising new data from two clinical trials with its lead BiTE® antibody, blinatumomab, at the 53rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called BiTE® antibodies, designed to harness the body’s T cells to kill cancer cells. The compound is being developed for the treatment of leukemia and B cell lymhoma.

The data show that Micromet’s blinatumomab more than doubled the complete remission rate produced by current standard therapies used to treat adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

In a phase 2 single-arm dose-ranging trial, 68% of evaluable patients (17/25) across all tested doses and schedules achieved a complete response (CR) or complete response with partial hematologic recovery (CRh*) following treatment with blinatumomab.  Of the 12 evaluable patients who received the selected dose and schedule 75% (9 of 12) achieved a CR or CRh*.  Notably, all responders also achieved a molecular response, or in other words, had no evidence of remaining leukemic cells detectable in the blood or bone marrow.

A first interim analysis of the time impact of blinatumomab treatment was conducted for the initial 18 patients enrolled to the trial. The median survival had not been reached, with a median follow-up period of 9.7 months. With combination chemotherapy, median survival typically ranges from 3 – 6 months1-5.  12 of the initial 18 patients had a CR or CRh* with a median duration of response of 7.1 months. Based on the results of this study, the Company initiated a global phase 2 study in this patient population in November 2011.

 

Moreover, new findings from a phase 1 trial presented at the meeting demonstrate Micromet’s blinatumomab induces durable responses in patients with extensively pre-treated diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Data focused on a cohort of 13 patients with DLBCL, of which 11 received the target dose and were evaluable for response. Of these 11 patients, 6 (55%) achieved an objective response following treatment with blinatumomab. 4 of 11 patients (38%) achieved a complete response. Patients were treated with a single course of blinatumomab induction therapy for up to eight weeks. As of October 2011, 5 of 6 patients had ongoing responses for up to 16.6 months. The median duration of response had not been reached with a median observation time of 7.1 months.

All patients enrolled in this study had received prior rituximab-containing regimens. Most had received three or more prior lines of therapy, including 8 of 13 patients with prior autologous stem cell transplant.

Company News: SuppreMol Obtains Option to In-License Antibody Against Interleukin 3 for Rheumatoid Arthritis

SuppreMol GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has closed an agreement to in-license an antibody directed against interleukin 3 (IL-3), which has been developed by the Molecular Immunology research group led by Prof. Dr. Matthias Mack at the University of Regensburg.

IL-3, a growth factor primarily produced by activated T cells, stimulates growth and differentiation of monocytes, basophils and other leukocyte populations from the bone marrow in an immune response. Recently, the team of Prof. Mack was able to demonstrate that IL-3 plays an important role in the onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease characterized by a chronic inflammation of the joints and other organs affecting up to one percent of the population in the industrialized world. The disease commonly leads to significant disability and reduction in the quality of life and is connected with significant costs for patients and the health care systems.

Therapy with an antibody-based IL-3 inhibitor, either in early stages or during flares and exacerbations, may provide a new class of treatment for patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Further details can be found here.

 

Company News: Micromet’s BiTE Antibody MT112/BAY 2010112 Demonstrates Potent Activity against Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Micromet, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI) yesterday evening announced the presentation of pre-clinical data on its BiTE antibody MT112/BAY 2010112, discovered and developed in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Orlando, Florida.

The data (poster # 4561) demonstrate the potent activity of the BiTE antibody against human cancer cell lines and inhibition of tumor growth in animal models.  MT112/ BAY 2010112 directed human and non-human primate T cells against PSMA-positive human prostate cancer cells, resulting in highly efficient cancer cell destruction. In mice, daily doses of MT112/BAY 2010112 as low as 0.05 milligram/kilogram were sufficient to inhibit growth of tumors from human prostate cancer cells.

During the course of the meeting, the Company also presented preclinical data on MT110, its BiTE antibody targeting epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM).  Results reported (poster # 1790) provide further validation of EpCAM as a cancer stem cell target, and show utility of MT110 to eradicate cancer stem cells derived from breast and hepatocellular carcinoma.

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