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Antisoma completes patient recruitment for phase I trial of TheraFab
Posted: Thursday, August 22, 2002
London, UK, 22 August 2002: Antisoma, the UK-based biopharmaceutical company developing new drugs for cancer, today announces that it has completed recruitment into a phase I trial of its radiolabelled monoclonal antibody fragment, TheraFab. The trial enrolled patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the commonest form of lung cancer. The aim of the study is to show how effectively TheraFab binds to lung-derived tumour cells and to check that the antibody does not deliver unacceptable levels of radiation to healthy tissues.
TheraFab is a member of the HMFG-1 family of antibody products, which bind to the tumour antigen MUC1. The MUC1 antigen is known to be expressed in a high proportion of non-small cell lung cancers.
Commenting, Glyn Edwards, CEO of Antisoma said ‘Completion of recruitment means we are on target to finish the study by the end of the year. We hope that the findings will ultimately contribute to the development of improved therapy for lung cancer, which remains poorly treated with current therapies.’
Enquiries:
Antisoma plc
Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)20 8799 8200
Financial Dynamics
Jonathan Birt Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113
Except for the historical information presented, certain matters discussed in this statement are forward looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties may be associated with product discovery and development, including statements regarding the company's clinical development programmes, the expected timing of clinical trials and regulatory filings. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, but actual results may differ materially.
Notes to editors
TheraFab
TheraFab is a fragment of the mouse antibody HMFG-1 labelled with yttrium 90 (although this isotope has been replaced with an imaging isotope for the phase I imaging study.)
MUC1
MUC1 is the antigen to which TheraFab binds; it is a cell membrane protein in the mucin family that is over-expressed in a variety of tumours of epithelial origin, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic, gastric and colon cancers. MUC1 is also the target for other Antisoma antibodies based on HMFG-1, including Therex and the lead product pemtumomab.
The MUC1 protein is present in the cell membrane in a glycosylated form (i.e. with carbohydrate residues added to the protein core). MUC1 in cancer cells often shows aberrant glycosylation – meaning a change in the pattern of sugar residues added after its synthesis. This is important as such changes expose otherwise concealed areas of the core protein, including the site recognised by HMFG-1 based antibodies.
The glycosylated form of MUC1 has sometimes been described as ‘PEM’ (Polymorphic epithelial mucin), but there are in fact multiple PEMs whose protein cores are encoded by different MUC genes; the MUC1 protein is the product of the gene MUC1.
Non-small cell lung cancer
Lung cancer is the commonest form of cancer and has a poor prognosis. Each year it is diagnosed in more than 1.2 million people and kills more than 1.1 million worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for around 75% of all reported cases.
Antisoma
Antisoma is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel products for the treatment of cancer. Using its drug development experience, the Company aims to produce safer and more effective tumour targeting therapies for commercialisation by pharmaceutical partners. Antisoma acquires the rights to promising new product candidates through partnerships with internationally recognised academic or cancer research institutions. These include the lead product candidate, pemtumomab, which was licensed from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and is currently in a Phase III study as adjuvant treatment for ovarian cancer, with designated Orphan Drug status in the US and EU. There are three additional products in the clinical pipeline, Therex, DMXAA and TheraFab, and an extensive pre-clinical programme. Visit www.antisoma.com for further information about Antisoma.
