BIOLOGICS
Outline of CellJammer®discovery platform, from analysis of target to in vivo proof of concept in 12 months.
filed and granted in the field, we have a very strong proprietary IP position and avoid the complexities of target IP relating to monoclonal antibody development.”
Identification of glycan-binding proteins
ProtAffin has identified more than 500 glycan- binding proteins in its proprietary database, GlycAffiBase™, which forms the start point in the company’s CellJammer® discovery technology process:
“These glycan-binding proteins all represent potential targets for our technology and we are very keen to work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, applying the CellJammer discovery technology process to their glycan-binding high-interest targets,” says Slingsby. “Many of the proteins we have identified represent excellent drug targets across the fields of inflammation, respiratory disease and oncology. Since inflammatory processes underpin many diseases, the true reach of our platform is even broader and encompasses, for example, a number of cardiovascular and metabolic indications including diabetes and also diabetic complications, MS, and ophthalmology indications. “We are developing PA401 for respiratory diseases that involve steroid-resistant neutrophilic inflammation, such as COPD and
cystic fibrosis. We have made excellent progress in the past couple of years and are on track to start our first clinical study in Q2 2012. This represents a key milestone in the development of ProtAffin since it proves the potential of our discovery technology to deliver clinical candidates. PA401 has a very promising, differentiated preclinical profile versus CXCR2 (IL-8 receptor) inhibitors in Phase 2 development by Big Pharma and the launched PDE4 inhibitor Daxas/roflumilast. We hope to see a significant increase in interest in ProtAffin and our novel platform as we are about to enter Phase 1 in Q2.” ProtAffin’s second pipeline programme is focused on developing a
monocyte/macrophage blocking decoy protein based on MCP-1. The company has developed strong preclinical data in a number of indications and is looking to work with potential future licensors by making its lead decoys available through material transfer agreement based collaborations. Slingsby says that since there are a variety of indications for this protein the company sees multiple opportunities to take this product into the clinic.
Partnering strategy
Slingsby says that at present, the company’s main focus is on generating Phase 1a/b clinical data for PA401 by the end of Q4 this
year, and that it will assess its partnering strategy at that point: “We want to apply our CellJammer platform towards further glycan-binding proteins by working with partners on a target-by-target basis to fully exploit the potential of the technology, and we aim to announce our first commercial collaboration with the platform later this year. Our aim is to establish glycan- binding biologics as a novel therapeutic modality in the clinic, better able to downregulate activity of glycan-bound proteins than current established modalities. We believe this approach is not competitive to mAbs, but rather additive for addressing the 500-plus awkward glycan-binding targets. Partnerships are likely to play a key role as we seek to maximise the value of our neutrophil- blocking IL-8 decoy PA401 in multiple respiratory indications and our second macrophage-blocking MCP-1 decoy in a number of indications.”
Slingsby expects to see biologics continuing to gain greater market share with the development of new approaches offering solutions to many areas of great unmet need but that the greatest gains to be made are in truly novel biologic approaches: “Many of the major pharmaceutical companies are increasingly focused on truly differentiated products offering significantly more than the first and second waves of antibody-based therapeutics in order to justify their often high price and minimise reimbursement issues. With many technologies and approaches aimed at the increasingly crowded biologics arena, we see great potential for companies such as ourselves, which offer true differentiation with the ability to disrupt disease processes more effectively and safely than many, more traditional approaches.”
Further information
Dr Jason Slingsby ProtAffin Biotechnologie AG Impulszentrum Graz-West Reininghausstrasse 13a A-8020 Graz Austria Tel +43 316 382 541 Fax +43 316 382 541-4
Mike Bartley ProtAffin Biotechnology London BioScience Innovation Centre 2 Royal College Street London. NW1 0NH United Kingdom Tel +44 20 7554 5875
CellJammer®discovery technology: creating glycan-binding decoy proteins.
Internet links Email:
office@protaffin.com
Web:
www.protaffin.com March/April 2012 sp2 Inter-Active 27
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