LONDON, UK and VIENNA, Austria I October 15, 2013 I PolyTherics Limited (“PolyTherics”) and TUBE Pharma GmbH (“TUBE”) announce that they are collaborating to produce reagents to link novel cytotoxic drugs developed by TUBE to antibodies using PolyTherics’ proprietary ThioBridge™ conjugation technology for the production of better antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).
TUBE has developed a series of proprietary synthetic tubulin-binding agents, referred to as cytolysins, which have been shown to be effective against a range of cancer cell lines, including drug-resistant cancer cells. Cytolysins rapidly trigger cell death and, conjugated to small molecules, polymers, proteins and peptides, they have shown significant efficacy in preclinical models of cancer.
PolyTherics has developed ThioBridge™, a site-specific conjugation technology, to attach cytotoxic payloads to whole antibodies, antibody fragments and other scaffolds. ThioBridge™ enables the production of ADCs with reduced heterogeneity and very good stability compared with alternative conjugation methods.
PolyTherics and TUBE can undertake feasibility studies for companies interested in evaluating ThioBridge™ with a cytolysin payload or the ThioBridge™-cytolysin reagent can be supplied for companies to evaluate in-house.
John Burt, CEO of PolyTherics said “We are delighted to be collaborating with TUBE as the ThioBridge™-cytolysin reagents will provide a new option for companies developing the next generation of antibody drug conjugates.”
Wolfgang Richter, Managing Director of TUBE Pharma, said “TUBE has generated several classes of highly potent tubulysin analogues – the cytolysins – which have shown an excellent anti-cancer effect and safety profile in preclinical studies undertaken by us and our licensees. I am delighted to be working with PolyTherics to generate ThioBridge™-cytolysin reagents for conjugation to antibodies.”
SOURCE: Polytherics
