On May 06, 2024 Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Biocytogen", HKEX: 02315), a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery of novel antibody-based therapeutics, reported a TCR-mimic antibody evaluation and potential licensing agreement with BioCopy AG ("BioCopy"), a research-based biotechnology company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland (Press release, Biocytogen, MAY 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234642707]).
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The agreement grants BioCopy access to fully human TCR-mimic antibodies targeting an intracellular antigen generated by Biocytogen’s proprietary RenTCR-mimicTM mice. BioCopy will conduct an evaluation and retain the option to license these antibodies for the development of novel cancer therapies.
"We are glad to provide BioCopy with our TCR-mimic antibodies," said Dr. Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen. "Our in vivo matured TCR-mimic antibodies demonstrated favorable affinity and excellent specificity. Combined with BioCopy’s expertise in TCR-mimic antibody screening and engager development, we are optimistic that our collaboration will generate novel drugs that benefit cancer patients."
BioCopy will use Biocytogen’s TCR-mimic antibodies and test them against promising intracellular tumor associated antigens. Here, BioCopy will use its automated end-to-end platform for the optimization of multispecific biotherapeutics to further develop these TCR-mimic antibodies into next-generation oncological drugs.
About Biocytogen’s TCR-mimic Antibody Discovery Platform
Biocytogen’s TCR-mimic platform focuses on the discovery of fully human antibodies to intracellular targets that are presented on the cell surface by MHC class I molecules. Leveraging proprietary RenTCR-mimicTM (HLA/RenMab) mice and specialized immunization protocols, Biocytogen’s platform is designed to generate TCR-mimic antibodies that are highly specific for peptide/HLA complexes and not HLA itself. Using a high-throughput antibody screening platform, Biocytogen swiftly identifies TCR-mimic antibodies with higher specificity and affinity than endogenous TCRs derived from patients to overcome tumor immune escape. Currently, antibody hits for multiple intracellular targets, including TAAs, cancer-testis antigens, mutated protein antigens, and viral protein antigens, are being evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Fully human antibody sequences obtained from the TCR-mimic platform can empower the development of T cell engagers, bispecific/multispecific antibodies, and CAR-T therapies.