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Efﬁcacy of Functionally Blocking Antibodies Against C-C chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2)

(Poster Discovery on Target 2013, Sorrento Therapeutics, SEP 24, 2013, View Source [SID:1234500784])

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CRT Pioneer Fund, BACIT and Sareum enter agreement to fund development of drugs to treat cancers including pancreatic, bowel and lung

On September 24, 2013 The Cancer Research Technology Pioneer Fund (CPF), London Stock Exchange-listed investment company, BACIT Limited (BACIT), and drug discovery company, Sareum Limited (Sareum), reported an agreement to co-fund the further development of a class of cancer drugs called CHK1 inhibitors (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, 24 24, 2013, View Source [SID1234523250]).

The candidate inhibitor originates from research in the Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, by scientists funded by Cancer Research UK working alongside Sareum’s researchers, and in collaboration with Cancer Research Technology (CRT).

A significant proportion of the further work funded by this new investment will be carried out at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and it is expected that the drug candidate will be taken into clinical development at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

The rights to the preclinical programme have been licensed into CPF from CRT and the ICR. Under the terms of the deal, CPF obtains worldwide rights to the preclinical CHK1 inhibitor programme and is responsible, for future development and commercialisation, funded by CPF, BACIT and Sareum. CRT and the originating research partners, Sareum and the ICR, are entitled to an up-front fee plus success milestone and royalty payments. Financial terms of the licence are not disclosed.

The investment is the first by BACIT in a drug development or medical innovation project at the ICR.

CHK1 inhibitors control a cancer cell’s response to DNA damage. Blocking CHK1 could boost the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs by blocking repair of the DNA damage caused by these drugs, but without harming healthy cells.

The developers of the programme believe the candidate CHK1 inhibitor to be developed could potentially treat a range of cancers including pancreatic, bowel and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with DNA-damaging chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy. The inhibitor could also potentially treat certain neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) types when dosed alone.

Ian Miscampbell, managing partner of Sixth Element Capital, the Manager of CPF, said: "This is the third investment made by the £50M CPF which CRT and the European Investment Fund launched in 2012 to bridge the UK funding gap between cancer drug discovery and early treatment development.

"We’re delighted to be working in partnership with BACIT and Sareum to fund this exciting development programme. This kind of funding collaboration will ensure that we can maximise the amount of money which can be committed through the CPF to develop new cancer therapies."

Tom Henderson of BACIT, said: "This collaboration marks BACIT’s first investment in a drug development project, and we’re delighted to be involved in such an exciting programme with the potential to deliver benefits for patients with many different types of cancer."

Dr Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum, said: "The funding which we are announcing today will enable the project to move swiftly towards, and potentially into Phase I clinical trials, the successful outcome of which should pave the way for the further development and commercialisation of a novel and broadly applicable cancer treatment."

Professor Paul Workman, deputy chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said: "We’re delighted to be working with this innovative and powerful consortium to accelerate progress on the CHK1 inhibitor programme. The support of BACIT has been particularly welcome and this type of funding is absolutely essential if we are to deliver benefits from new molecularly targeted cancer drugs to patients.

"Our CHK1 inhibitor has exciting potential both as a cancer treatment in its own right and also as a drug to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. All the partners are eager to expedite the drug candidate into clinical trials as quickly as possible because of the potential to treat large numbers of cancer patients with this approach."

Dr Keith Blundy, chief executive of Cancer Research Technology, said: "We’re delighted that this investment will bridge the gap to develop a promising molecule so that it can be taken into clinical trials to give to patients – a huge step on the way to providing new options for patients and one that may have been delayed for years without the vital injection of cash and resources provided through the CRT Pioneer Fund."

(Press release, Shield Biotech, SEP 17, 2013, View Source [SID:1234503738])

Affimed Therapeutics and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Partner to Advance AFM13 in a Phase 2 Trial for Refractory and/or Relapsed Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

On September 16, 2013 : Affimed Therapeutics AG and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) reported a partnership to co-fund a phase 2 trial with the Recruit – TandAb AFM13, a novel tetravalent bispecific antibody directed against human CD30 and CD16A in Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) patients for whom currently available treatment s have failed (Press release, Affimed Therapeutics, SEP 16, 2013, View Source [SID:SID1234515605]). AFM13 is a first – in – class immunotherapy drug designed to treat HL patients and patients with CD30 – positive malignancies . LLS has committed to investing up to $4.4 million over 2 years to support the project.
Dr . Richard Winneker, SVP Research for LLS , stated, " Though the cure rate for Hodgkin Lymphoma is high compared to other types of blood cancers , refractory and relapse d patients have few therapeutic options . More importantly current treatments for HL patients involve cytotoxic drug therapies and radiotherapy , which are likely responsible for secondary tumors and other considerable long term side effects developing later in a patient ’ s life , leaving open a critical need for safer and more durable therapies. LLS is committed to advancing breakthrough therapies, particularly for patients with unmet medical need s, and Affimed’s immunotherapy is emerging as a promising thera peutic option for HL patients . "
"The partnership between Affimed and LLS is a significant validation of the high potential of our TandAb platform and reinforces our strategy to develop this novel bispecific construct for hematological tumors", said Dr. Adi Hoess, CEO of Affimed AG. "We very much welcome LLS ’s commitment to AFM13 , and we look forward to an accelerated de velopment of this therapy for patients with limited treatment options to date."
In a phase 1 trial , AFM13 has shown a good safety profile , as it was well tolerated at all dose levels tested. Furthermore, AFM13 showed clear and meaningful signs of efficacy in some patients deemed to have a poor prognosis, including patients who had not benefited from the recently approved CD30 targeting drug , brentuximab vedotin ( Adcetris , Seattle Genetics). These encouraging data warrant the further investigation of AFM13 in a phase 2 trial to further assess its efficacy. Moreover, these trials could provide proof of concept for using bispecific antibodies to elicit natural killer (NK) cells, vital lymphocytes of the innate immune system, to effectively kill cancer cells.

Cancer Research Technology and Teva Pharmaceuticals Form R&D Alliance for Cancer DNA Damage Response Drugs

On September 16, 2013 Cancer Research Technology (Cancer Research UK) and Teva reported that they have signed a multi-project alliance agreement to research and develop first-in-class cancer drugs that modulate DNA damage and repair response (DDR) processes in cancer cells (Press release Teva, SEP 16, 2013, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1854857 [SID:1234500817]).

DDR plays a key role in protecting cancer cells from the damaging effect of chemotherapy – creating an in-built antidote to the toxic effects of the anti-tumor drug. As the cancer cells that are best able to repair the DNA damage caused by the cancer treatments survive, they replicate, naturally selecting for the mutation with the enhanced repair capability – leading to recurrence and resistance to treatment.

Cancer Research UK and CRT has created a world-class hub of expertise in DDR-related basic, translational, and clinical research that is leading the field; building the understanding that will hopefully enable "smarter" use of this very interesting approach in the development of new treatment options.

Based on Cancer Research UK’s extensive network of leading UK universities, and its five cancer research institutes (Gray Institute, Oxford; Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute; London Research Institute; Paterson Institute, Manchester; and the Beatson Institute, Glasgow), this hub will provide the foundations for CRT’s and Teva’s work towards developing novel therapies based on DDR-related targets for the treatment of cancer.

"For cancer patients, it is important that we maintain the momentum of progress that has been made in oncology in recent years," said Dr. Michael Hayden, President, Teva Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer. "Cancer Research UK, CRT, and their outstanding academic partners, are a driving force in the improved understanding of cancer and its treatment. This research collaboration will build on our understanding of how cells repair DNA damage, help us identify possible points of therapeutic intervention, and lead us onto a pathway toward improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients."

The alliance provides Teva with the opportunity to research and develop selected and differentiated novel treatments targeting DDR processes. With a focus on mechanisms and molecular targets related to the emergence of therapeutic resistance in cancer cells, the partnership also opens up the potential to expand the clinical utility and therapeutic effectiveness of Teva’s current portfolio of oncology chemotherapeutic agents. This approach builds on Teva’s growing focus on personalized medicine throughout its R&D pipeline, and specifically within its oncology portfolio.

Building on a prior well-established working relationship, the multi-year agreement sets out the provision of new molecular targets, selected by CRT from Cancer Research UK’s portfolio of biological research in DDR. These targets will be validated to prove their therapeutic importance before progressing to the early stages of drug discovery in CRT’s Discovery Laboratories. CRT and Teva will then jointly undertake chemical lead generation activities. Under the terms of the agreement, CRT will receive research funding and be eligible to receive milestone payments, and royalties on projects advancing through Teva’s drug pipeline.

Dr Hamish Ryder, director of drug discovery at CRT’s Discovery Laboratories, said: "Cancer Research UK scientists are carrying out exciting research in the area of DNA damage repair. Some cancer therapies work by targeting DNA damage response pathways in cancer cells, and finding new ways to block repair in tumors can boost the effectiveness of existing therapies. This exciting alliance with Teva brings together the cutting-edge research funded by Cancer Research UK, CRT’s expertise in progressing new drug targets and Teva’s drug research and development capabilities in a compelling partnership."

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: "Our scientists are leading the world in understanding the machinery that causes and subsequently repairs damage to DNA in our cells. We believe this machinery offers many opportunities for new treatments. Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of research that has seen survival from cancer double in the last forty years. By working alongside international partners from industry to discover and develop new targeted cancer drugs we hope to be able to accelerate this progress. This innovative alliance provides a vital new route to turn our research excellence into new drugs to treat cancer patients, hopefully saving more lives, more quickly."

Notes to editors: *The alliance will span the drug discovery process – from new target validation – proving a protein’s importance as a therapeutic target, though to lead optimization – synthesizing compounds for further development as potential drugs.