On December 13, 2016 Invenra, Inc., a pre-clinical stage bio-pharmaceutical company focused on next-generation therapeutic human antibodies, bispecifics and antibody derivatives, and AgonOx, a biotechnology company developing a pipeline of immunotherapy drugs targeting key regulators of the immune response to cancer, reported a collaboration to identify and characterize a panel of fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against a novel immuno-oncology target that AgonOx has identified utilizing its discovery platform (Press release, Invenra, DEC 13, 2016, View Source [SID1234539840]). Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

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Invenra’s proprietary platform is based on ultra-high throughput technology allowing function forward screening of full-length antibodies using Invenra’s mAbSeq technology, where antibodies can be directly and quickly interrogated in a multi-plexed fashion with a diverse set of immunotypic and biologically relevant assays. The Invenra technology allows rapid identification of high affinity mAbs with the broadest epitope coverage possible while simultaneously performing direct phenotypic screening to isolate those mAbs with the most relevant biological activity, thus leading to the election of the best lead compounds for further development.

AgonOx’s approach to target discovery begins with genomic and proteomic analyses of tumor-
infiltrating lymphocytes isolated from human tumor biopsies. Candidates identified by these analyses are further validated using in-vitro assays and predictive in vivo murine cancer models. Andrew Weinberg, President of AgonOx, said "Collaborating with Invenra strengthens our efforts to develop immuno-oncology drug candidates through their novel antibody platform and complements our mission of discovering and delivering science that can change the standard of care for patients with cancer. Invenra has first-rate scientists that we hope to work with for years to come."

Roland Green, CEO and president of Invenra, said, "This collaboration is a major milestone for Invenra as a company and a validation of our innovative technology. We are delighted to be collaborating with the excellent team at AgonOx to identify best-in-class antibodies against their novel immuno-oncology target. In addition, this collaboration with AgonOx fits well within our business model, whereby we are partnering with a select group of companies while continuing to develop our own internal proprietary pipeline of therapeutic product candidates."

On December 13, 2016 CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTMX), a biopharmaceutical company developing investigational Probody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, reported that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has selected a clinical candidate for its CTLA-4 Probody program under the strategic oncology collaboration established in May 2014. Achieving this milestone results in a $2 million payment to CytomX (Press release, CytomX Therapeutics, DEC 13, 2016, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2229234 [SID1234517063]).

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"Selecting a candidate for the CTLA-4 Probody program is a pivotal development in our partnership with CytomX Therapeutics and builds on our I.O. leadership," said Carl Decicco, Ph. D., Head of Discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb. "We are studying the CTLA-4 Probody for its potential to deliver a next-generation anti-CTLA-4 therapy as we continue to explore transformational immuno-oncology medicines."

CTLA-4, a clinically validated inhibitory immune checkpoint protein, is the most advanced target from the companies’ collaboration, which now also includes three additional, unnamed targets in discovery.

"Advancing our CTLA-4 Probody program to clinical candidate stage with Bristol-Myers Squibb underscores the potential of the Probody platform to transform the field of immuno-oncology by delivering safer, more effective therapies," said Sean McCarthy, D.Phil., President and Chief Executive Officer of CytomX. "This partnership milestone, taken together with CytomX’s recently filed Investigational New Drug application for CX-072, a wholly owned PD-L1-directed Probody therapeutic, highlights the potential of our innovative platform to deliver a new generation of anti-cancer treatments."

About the Collaboration Agreement
Under the terms of the May 2014 agreement, CytomX granted Bristol-Myers Squibb exclusive worldwide rights to discover, develop and commercialize Probody therapeutics for up to four oncology targets. Bristol-Myers Squibb made an upfront payment of $50 million to CytomX in 2014, and is providing research funding over the course of the research term. Upon the selection of the third and fourth targets, Bristol-Myers Squibb paid CytomX selection payments. CytomX is also eligible to receive additional preclinical payments and up to $298 million in development, regulatory and sales milestone payments for each collaboration targe

On December Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (NASDAQ: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a preclinical pharmaceutical company focused on the development of anti-cancer drug candidates, many of which are based on license agreements with The University of Texas System on behalf of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, reported its scientific presentation at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (Press release, Moleculin, DEC 13, 2016, View Source [SID1234517062]). Waldemar Priebe, PhD, Moleculin’s Founder, Founding Scientist, and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board presented the Abstract on November 30th at the Symposium in Munich, Germany.

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Wally Klemp, Chairman and CEO stated, "This presentation shows proof of concept data for our WP1122 portfolio, including data demonstrating increased survival of animals with human brain tumors treated with WP1122, as well as its biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. In non-optimal doses and treatment regimens, our lead inhibitor WP1122 performed equal to or better than the current market leader, cytotoxic drug temozolomide and significantly improved survival in animals treated with WP1122 in combination with temozolomide."

The following is an overview of the presentation, titled "Latentiation of 2-deoxy-D-glucose". No curative therapy exists for patients with high-grade malignant gliomas (GBMs). New approaches to the treatment of this disease are currently being evaluated with mixed results. One approach, that deserves to be therapeutically exploited, is targeting brain tumor metabolism. 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), a known effective inhibitor of glycolysis, has been clinically tested but results did not meet expectations due to poor drug-like characteristics and inability to achieve therapeutic concentrations of 2-DG in the brain.

Dr. Waldemar Priebe stated, "We proposed to use latentiation of 2-DG to overcome this problem by chemically modifying biologically active 2-DG to form prodrugs with increased brain uptake that will be able to liberate in vivo the parent compound 2-DG in the brain. In our approach, we synthesized a series of differentially acetylated derivatives of 2-DG. Preliminary in vivo studies in mice of selected diacetates of 2-DG demonstrated >9 fold increased levels of 2-DG in the brain when compared with levels of 2-DG after administration of equimolar amount of 2-DG itself. Ultimately, our studies focused on a single compound 3,6-di-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-D-glucose (WP1122)."

Compound WP1122 was administered in vivo without toxic death up to the highest feasible dose of 3.0 g/kg intravenously and orally up to 6.0 g/kg. Significantly increased survival, comparable to or better than that of temozolomide, was observed for orally administered WP1122 in a U87 orthotopic glioma model at a dose of 1.25 g/kg. These promising results prompted continuation of preclinical toxicology evaluation of WP1122 aimed at the initiation of formal IND enabling studies. In addition, the proof of concept delivered by WP1122 has provided not only an effective approach to develop novel agents able to effectively cross the blood brain barrier but also a method to create a new class of dual function prodrugs by exploring biologically active acids.

Moleculin’s Chairman and CEO, Walter Klemp, concluded, "We are excited to present our results at this prestigious symposium. Clearly, the significantly increased survival data is key, especially as no curative therapy exists for patients with high-grade malignant gliomas today. We look forward to presenting additional data as we progress toward our clinical timeline."
For more information on the Symposium click: View Source