Discovery Reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting
TORONTO, Canada | Apr 18, 2007 | Viventia Biotech Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company advancing a portfolio of novel antibody products focused on cancer, today announced that it has generated a novel, fully human anti-cancer antibody, VB1-050, and also identified the novel target for the antibody, a mutant form of the protein Glut-8. The overexpression of this target is predominantly associated with the likelihood of disease metastasis and hence poor patient prognosis. Further research is ongoing to assess the potential clinical exploitation of VB1-050/Glut-8. These data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which runs from April 14-18, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.
"This work highlights the significant advantages of our discovery platforms, Hybridomics(TM), ImmunoMine(TM), and UnLock(TM), which not only generate and characterize novel, fully-human anti-cancer antibodies, but also can identify their corresponding, often novel, targets," said Dr. Nick Glover, President and CEO. "As a result, with every research program we have the potential to generate both a new human antibody with therapeutic potential and, as importantly a novel high-value cancer drug target, from which a range of additional drug development strategies can be derived."
Viventia’s approach is to leverage the human immune system response to cancer to generate novel anti-cancer antibodies and identify novel cancer targets. VB1-050, an IgG MAb, was generated from pooled lymphocytes of cancer patient samples, using Viventia’s Hybridomics(TM) platform. This antibody demonstrates preferential binding to a host of tumor cell lines, including breast, liver, prostate and colon, with limited normal tissue reactivity. Further, internalization of VB1-050 was confirmed by the disappearance of membrane bound VB1-050 and its appearance inside the cell.
Viventia’s proprietary proteomics platform, UnLock(TM), is based upon two-dimensional liquid chromatography in tandem with LC-MS/MS. Using UnLock(TM), a mutated version of the Glucose transporter-8/GLUTX1/SLC 2A8 gene product was identified as the antigen target for VB1-050. This type-II transmembrane protein belongs to a family of highly related hexose transport proteins that are distributed in a wide variety of species.
Viventia Biotech retains full global product rights to VB1-050 and has filed patents on both the antibody and the novel Glut-8 target. The Company is seeking partners capable of complementing Viventia’s development expertise with their global sales, marketing and commercial capabilities.
About Viventia Biotech:
Viventia Biotech Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company generating a pipeline of fully human antibodies and identifying novel targets for the treatment of cancer. Its lead products have been further developed into Armed Antibodies(TM); powerful and precise anti-cancer drugs that combine cytotoxic protein payloads with the highly precise tumor-targeting characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to overcome various forms of cancer. Viventia’s lead product, Proxinium(TM), is undergoing a global Phase III clinical trial – TARGET – for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Viventia is also developing Vicinium(TM), which is in a Phase II clinical study for the treatment of bladder cancer, and VB6-845, beginning a Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors. The Company has created a portfolio of follow-on fully human antibody drug candidates and has a discovery engine to provide a rich and sustainable long-term pipeline.
SOURCE: Viventia Biotech Inc.
Post Views: 89
Discovery Reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting
TORONTO, Canada | Apr 18, 2007 | Viventia Biotech Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company advancing a portfolio of novel antibody products focused on cancer, today announced that it has generated a novel, fully human anti-cancer antibody, VB1-050, and also identified the novel target for the antibody, a mutant form of the protein Glut-8. The overexpression of this target is predominantly associated with the likelihood of disease metastasis and hence poor patient prognosis. Further research is ongoing to assess the potential clinical exploitation of VB1-050/Glut-8. These data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which runs from April 14-18, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.
"This work highlights the significant advantages of our discovery platforms, Hybridomics(TM), ImmunoMine(TM), and UnLock(TM), which not only generate and characterize novel, fully-human anti-cancer antibodies, but also can identify their corresponding, often novel, targets," said Dr. Nick Glover, President and CEO. "As a result, with every research program we have the potential to generate both a new human antibody with therapeutic potential and, as importantly a novel high-value cancer drug target, from which a range of additional drug development strategies can be derived."
Viventia’s approach is to leverage the human immune system response to cancer to generate novel anti-cancer antibodies and identify novel cancer targets. VB1-050, an IgG MAb, was generated from pooled lymphocytes of cancer patient samples, using Viventia’s Hybridomics(TM) platform. This antibody demonstrates preferential binding to a host of tumor cell lines, including breast, liver, prostate and colon, with limited normal tissue reactivity. Further, internalization of VB1-050 was confirmed by the disappearance of membrane bound VB1-050 and its appearance inside the cell.
Viventia’s proprietary proteomics platform, UnLock(TM), is based upon two-dimensional liquid chromatography in tandem with LC-MS/MS. Using UnLock(TM), a mutated version of the Glucose transporter-8/GLUTX1/SLC 2A8 gene product was identified as the antigen target for VB1-050. This type-II transmembrane protein belongs to a family of highly related hexose transport proteins that are distributed in a wide variety of species.
Viventia Biotech retains full global product rights to VB1-050 and has filed patents on both the antibody and the novel Glut-8 target. The Company is seeking partners capable of complementing Viventia’s development expertise with their global sales, marketing and commercial capabilities.
About Viventia Biotech:
Viventia Biotech Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company generating a pipeline of fully human antibodies and identifying novel targets for the treatment of cancer. Its lead products have been further developed into Armed Antibodies(TM); powerful and precise anti-cancer drugs that combine cytotoxic protein payloads with the highly precise tumor-targeting characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to overcome various forms of cancer. Viventia’s lead product, Proxinium(TM), is undergoing a global Phase III clinical trial – TARGET – for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Viventia is also developing Vicinium(TM), which is in a Phase II clinical study for the treatment of bladder cancer, and VB6-845, beginning a Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors. The Company has created a portfolio of follow-on fully human antibody drug candidates and has a discovery engine to provide a rich and sustainable long-term pipeline.
SOURCE: Viventia Biotech Inc.
Post Views: 89
