Byondis and Glycotope to collaborate on antibodies against novel GlycoTargets
pharmafile | July 27, 2021 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |
Byondis and Glycotope have entered into a platform access agreement to discover and develop antibodies that target specific tumour-associated protein/carbohydrate combined glyco-epitopes (GlycoTargets).
Under the terms of the platform access agreement, Byondis has gained exclusive rights to evaluate and develop antibodies against selected novel GlycoTargets, with the option to in-license these antibodies for development as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Wim Dokter, Byondis Chief Scientific Officer, said: “Selective tumour targeting is key to maximise the potential of our linker-drug platforms to generate effective ADCs with low systemic toxicity.
“The antibodies generated by Glycotope are designed to deliver very high tumour selectivity. We are excited to join forces and align our highly complementary technologies to provide effective and safe ADCs for the benefit of cancer patients.”
Henner Kollenberg, Managing Director of Glycotope, said: “This agreement with Byondis highlights the potential of our GlycoTarget discovery and technology platform.
“GlycoTargets are a unique class of highly tumour-specific antigens that offer reduced on-target / off-tumour toxicities.
“We believe that combining antibodies against these GlycoTargets with Byondis’ linker-drug platform has great potential to produce novel treatments for people suffering from diseases for which no adequate medical treatment option has been found so far.”
Glycosylation is strongly altered in cancer cells, reflecting the drastic changes in tumour metabolism, which results in new, highly tumour-specific epitopes (GlycoTargets).
Specific antibodies against these GlycoTargets might be highly cancer specific and have the potential to target a broad range of oncology indications.
To improve the cell-killing capability of antibodies, cytotoxic drugs can be attached to the antibodies using a linker molecule, forming ADCs. While earlier generation ADCs improved targeting and cell killing, they were unstable in the bloodstream, leading to premature release of the cytotoxic payload, impacting healthy tissue and narrowing the therapeutic window.
Byondis’ ADCs are highly stable in circulation and carry an intricate, inactivated and potent cytotoxic drug that rapidly self-destructs if it is prematurely released, limiting damage to healthy tissue and improving the therapeutic window.
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