On May 8, 2018 Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation ("APC" or the "Company") (TSXV: APC) (FSE: 0E8) reported an update of progress during the third quarter, FY 2018 (Press release, Advanced Proteome Therapeutics, MAY 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234526224]). The Company, in its pursuit of commercial success is vigourously applying innovative core principles ((Marketwired – January 31, 2018) to advance its proprietary technology and create superior versions of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), with the ultimate goal of perfecting this type of therapeutic agent and standardizing the development process.
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In pursuing a critical milestone in animal studies of demonstrable efficacy of its lead ADC candidate, the Company has recently outsourced the scaling up for production of material to be tested, ensuring that the quality control of the final product conforms to industry standards.
In this regard, APC is pleased to report that the impressive potency against cancer cell lines previously announced with our Heidelberg Pharma partners (Marketwired – January 08, 2018), has been replicated and substantiated by an independent laboratory (National Research Council of Canada (NRC)) and the technology effectively transferred to NRC and scaled to an intermediate level, attesting to its robustness. By overcoming these traditional barriers, the company is positioned for final scale-up and animal testing during the 4th quarter, activities which have now been scheduled.
During the 3rd quarter, APC has also been actively engaged in converting the series of related antibodies provided under the CCAB/University of Toronto Agreement (Marketwired-October 19, 2016) into bona fide ADCs for evaluation as to their suitability for animal testing. The target criteria involving site-selectively linking up two copies of toxin moieties per antibody, defined by an Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) supported initiative (Marketwired – November 20, 2017, has been achieved.
From this accelerated effort, a clearer understanding of how to match toxins to APC’s linker technology has emerged and has resulted in the identification of site-selectively conjugated ADCs with excellent biophysical properties that qualify for scale-up, and potentially animal testing as well, subject to results in preliminary cell cytotoxicity studies. This project is ongoing and should be completed in the 4th quarter, wherein a decision regarding a lead candidate will be made.
Work has also been initiated that directly relates to the Collaboration and Option agreement with the ImmunoBiochem Corporation (Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)) with the goal of producing ADCs targeting triple-negative breast cancer. Design elements for construction of target ADCs have been formulated and synthetic work has begun, to enable feasibility studies.
During the 3rd quarter the company has been fortunate in recruiting Scientists/Physicians possessing high level expertise in antibody technology and profound clinical experience with ADCs to the Scientific Advisory Board to align with the company’s objectives and projected business activities in the path ahead. The Company is also gratified that
the relevant parties have amended the License for space to extend the current term of residency at JLABS until May 1st, 2019.