On June 4, 2020 Alligator Bioscience (Nasdaq Stockholm: ATORX) and Scandion Oncology (Spotlight, Sweden: SCOL), reported signing of a collaboration agreement (Press release, Alligator Bioscience, JUN 4, 2020, View Source [SID1234560822]). The two companies have agreed to explore the anti-tumor efficacy of the CD40 antibody mitazalimab (Alligator Bioscience) in combination with SCO-101 (Scandion Oncology) as an addition to chemotherapy in resistant preclinical tumor models. The expectation is that SCO-101 will revert chemotherapy resistance and thereby further strengthening the anti-tumor effects of mitazalimab.
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Immuno-oncology (IO) drugs have proven very effective in subsets of cancer patients. Recently, data from large clinical trials have shown that the combination of IO drugs and standard chemotherapy results in additive anti-tumor effects and more durable remissions in cancer patients. However, many cancers develop resistance to chemotherapy and consequently, no additive effects will be expected in these patients.
The Alligator Bioscience drug candidate mitazalimab enhances presentation of antigens released by cancer cells and is thought to be beneficial in combination with chemotherapy, where large amounts of antigens are being released by dying tumor cells. Scandion Oncology’s drug candidate SCO-101 acts by blocking resistance mechanisms in cancer cells, allowing chemotherapy to kill previously resistant cancer cells. Thereby, SCO-101 would restore the release of antigens and re-activate the anti-cancer effects of the IO drugs.
"This collaboration will further validate mitazalimab’s potential in combination therapy with diverse chemotherapeutic agents, as well as the power of SCO-101 as a solution to the widespread issue of chemoresistance," said Per Norlén, CEO of Alligator Bioscience.
"This is a dream scenario for Scandion Oncology. Combinations between SCO-101, chemotherapy and an IO drug like mitazalimab could easily become the future of anti-cancer therapy" says Nils Brünner, CEO of Scandion Oncology.