Already checked pipeline:
1D09C3 – Monoclonal Antibody Against Lymphoid Cancers
In 2005, it was estimated that more than 56,000 people in the U.S. and about 70,000 people in the European Union (EU) were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), the most common form of lymphoma. In recent years, good progress has been made in treating lymphoid cancers with antibodies such as Rituxan® (rituximab). However, a number of patients do not respond to existing treatments, and of those who do initially respond, the majority eventually relapses. Thus, there remains a major unmet medical need for additional therapies to treat patients who have relapsed or become resistant to currently available treatments.
Antibodies are normally produced by the body in response to the presence of foreign substances (antigens) in the body and are extremely specific. Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured proteins that share characteristics with naturally occurring antibodies. Each antibody usually binds to one particular type of antigen presented on a cell and can interfere with that cell’s activity or cause cell death. GPC Biotech’s 1D09C3 monoclonal antibody binds specifically to the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class II molecule, which is found mainly on the surface of blood cells and certain tumor cells. In in vitro studies, 1D09C3 has been shown to kill these tumor cells by inducing programmed cell death.
Based on pre-clinical studies, the mechanism-of-action of 1D09C3 is believed to be novel and is different from those of Rituxan and other monoclonal antibodies currently approved for the treatment of NHL in the U.S. Unlike other antibodies in this indication, including Rituxan, 1D09C3 does not require a functioning immune system for its cell-killing effect. Patients who have been treated with currently approved therapies frequently have a weakened immune system. With its differentiating characteristics, 1D09C3 may hold the potential to become an important new therapy for NHL.
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Focus on Kinase Inhibitors
GPC Biotech has ongoing drug development and discovery programs that leverage its expertise in kinase inhibitors. Protein kinases represent a large family of proteins that play an important role in signaling between and within cells. The inhibition of distinct kinases can therefore modulate various biological processes, some of which are critically important in the development of cancer. Many of the more than 500 protein kinases encoded by the human genome have been implicated in tumor growth.
One reason that a cell can become cancerous is an uncontrolled growth signal. This signal is sent to the nucleus on a pathway of kinases. As a result, the cell starts to grow and divide in an uncontrolled manner, which can eventually lead to the growth of a tumor if the signal is activated inappropriately. Inhibiting a specific kinase involved in such a pathway, and thereby interrupting the internal tumor cell communication, can be an effective way to develop a new anticancer treatment. Indeed, in recent years several new anticancer drugs that act through the inhibition of kinases have been approved for marketing.
surf's up......crikey
