On October 12, 2018 Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRO), reported that it has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for STRO-001 for the treatment of multiple myeloma (Press release, Sutro Biopharma, OCT 12, 2018, View Source [SID1234529894]). STRO-001 is a potential first-in-class antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CD74, a protein highly expressed in B-cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma.
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"There is a growing need for new treatment options for patients with multiple myeloma," commented Bill Newell, Sutro’s Chief Executive Officer. "This Orphan Drug Designation is a great step towards advancing our uniquely designed STRO-001 that could bring new treatment options to patients in need."
STRO-001 was developed with Sutro’s proprietary cell-free protein synthesis and site-specific conjugation platform, XpressCF+, which facilitate precision design and rapid empirical optimization of ADCs. Sutro’s technology enables design and manufacture of a highly optimized single molecular species within the product, rather than the usual mixture of imprecisely conjugated antibodies that comprise an ADC development product made by conventional cell-based manufacturing platforms.
"STRO-001 was designed to directly target cancer cells to deliver a cytotoxic payload. Building upon our XpressCF+ platform we plan to develop better options to treat tumors with greater precision," Bill Newell added.
STRO-001 is currently being studied in a Phase 1 clinical trial enrolling separate dose escalation cohorts for myeloma and B-cell lymphoma.
About Orphan Drug Designation
The Orphan Drug Designation Program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics which are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases/disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.