Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[entdoc]

DD for newbies.AllUneed2know: cjgaddy post 92740. If you read the following you probably do not need to research PPHM much further;
Philip Thorpe,PhD., Pharmacology professor at U.TexasSW, is the inventer of Bavituximab, "BAVI", PPHM's lead product, a monoclonal antibody. Thorpe will be chairing the IBC Antibody Therapeutics Conference to be held in December: see post 9270 for the program brochure.
12-5-2012: Philip Thorpe & Joe Shan to speak about Bavi at IBC’s Antibody Therapeutics Conf. in San Diego…
Dr. Phil Thorpe is Chair for session, ”Dev. Status of Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Antibodies” - 6 speakers:
• Dario Neri (Swiss Federal Inst. of Tech.) - immunocytokines delivering IL-2, TNF-A, IL-12
• Bruce Cree (UCSF) - B cell-depleting mabs that deplete dysregulated Bcells that contribute to MS
• Erik Fedyk (Millennium Pharm) – mab vedolizumab [MLN0002] vs. inflammatory bowel disease
• Gens Volkmer (Stanford Univ) - CD47-blocking antibodies that inhibit of tumor growth & Mets
• Philip Thorpe (UTSW, PPHM SAB) - Bavituximab reactivates innate & adaptive tumor immunity and induces an immune cell-mediated shutdown of tumor vasculature
• Joseph Shan (Peregrine’s VP/Clin+RegAffairs) – an update on the perf. of Bavi in cancer clinical trials
Dec5 2012: IBC’s 23rd Annual Intl. Conf – Antibody Eng. & Therapeutics (SDiego) http://tinyurl.com/bv3usce
...11:00am Dr. Philip Thorpe (Chair) “Overcoming Immune Suppression in Tumors with Bavituximab: Preclin. Studies”
…11:30am Joe Shan, “Clinical Dev. of Bavituximab, a PS-Targeting Mab”
Dec2-6 2012: “IBC’s 23rd Annual Intl. Conf – Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics Conf.”, SanDiego
”Cutting-Edge Basic Science Combined with Updates on Clinical Progress”
http://www.ibclifesciences.com/antibodyeng
Comprised of 2 sub-conferences:
• Antibody Engineering Agenda (Dec3-5): http://www.ibclifesciences.com/antibodyeng/agenda.xml
• Antibody Therapeutics Agenda (Dec4-5): http://www.ibclifesciences.com/antibodyeng/agenda-ther.xml
2012 ANTIBODY THERAPEUTICS SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
• Rathin C. Das, PhD, CEO, Synergys Biotherapeutics, Inc.
• Mark R. Alfenito, PhD, CEO, EnGen Bio, Inc.
• Benjamin P. Chen, PhD, Managing Partner, Ignatius Transaction Partners, LLC
• Philip E. Thorpe, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology & Serena S. Simmons Distinguished Chair, Univ. of Texas SW
• Trudi Veldman, PhD, Director, Biologics Generation, Abbott Laboratories

OVERVIEW http://www.ibclifesciences.com/antibodyeng/overview.xml
• Leading Academic Research – MIT, UCSF, Cambridge Univ., Scripps
• Innovative Emerging Science – Chugai, Cell-Signal, Zyngenia, Los Alamos Natl Lab
• Proven Clinical Results – Seattle-Gen, Pfizer, Amgen, “UTSW examines clinical studies of Bavituximab used to overcome immune suppression in tumors”
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Antibody Therapeutics Conference – Wed. Dec. 5, 2012
Track: ”Development Status of Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Antibodies”
12-5-12 8:00am: Chairperson’s Opening Remarks - Philip E. Thorpe, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Serena S. Simmons Distinguished Chair, Univ. of Texas SW
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SESSION CHAIR: Philip E. Thorpe, Univ, of Texas SW Medical Center
Session Overview: The development of immunomodulatory antibodies is one of the most significant advances in cancer therapy in the 10 years that IBC’s Antibody Therapeutics Conference has been held. The best known antibodies of this category are anti-CTLA4 (e.g., ipilimumab), anti-PD1, and anti-PD1L mAbs, which have shown meaningful clinical activity in melanoma, renal cell cancer, and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). These antibodies act by suppressing the downregulation of activated T cells, thereby maintaining and enhancing immune responses to tumor antigens. This session will focus on new and alternative approaches to creating immunomodulatory antibodies for the treatment of cancer & non-malignant diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
SPEAKERS:
Dario Neri (Swiss Federal Inst. of Technology) will deliver the keynote presentation in which he will discuss immunocytokines for the treatment of cancer & RA. Immunocytokines are fusions of antibody-binding domains with cytokines that activate or suppress immune activity. The strategy is to create fusion proteins that target fibronectin and tenascin isoforms that are selectively present in the extracellular matrix surrounding angiogenic and remodeling blood vessels. For cancer, the immunocytokines deliver IL-2, TNF-A, or IL-12 to stimulate immune cell attack on the tumor vasculature. For RA, IL-10 is delivered to suppress immune reactivity around inflamed vessels.
Bruce Cree (Univ. of California, SanFran) will describe how B cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies can be used to deplete dysregulated B cells that contribute to MS pathogenesis. Clinical studies have shown promising efficacy with > 90% reductions in markers of disease and excellent tolerability; Phase 3 clinical trials are in progress.
Erik Fedyk (Millennium Pharm.) will discuss vedolizumab [MLN0002], a humanized monoclonal antibody for treating inflammatory bowel disease. Vedolizumab binds to the gut-tropic A4B7 integrin on vascular endothelium, thereby blocking the homing of MAdCAM-1 positive leukocytes into mucosal & inflamed tissues. Vedolizumab is in Phase 3 trials in patients with moderate to severe Crohn disease.
Gens Volkmer (Stanford Univ.) will discuss pre-clinical evidence that CD47, which is overexpressed in numerous tumor types, transmits a “don’t eat me” signal to macrophages and dendritic cells. Treatment with CD47-blocking antibodies enables immune cells to phagocytose tumor cells in vitro. This results in inhibition of tumor growth and prevention of metastases in xenograft tumor models.
Philip Thorpe (Univ. of Texas SW Medical Ctr) will give an update on the mechanism of anti-tumor action of bavituximab, an immunostimulatory chimeric monoclonal antibody that is showing promising activity in clinical trials in patients with various types of cancer. Bavituximab targets the immunosuppressive lipid phosphatidylserine (PS) that becomes exposed on tumor blood vessels and tumor cells. Tumors externalize PS and secrete PS-expressing exosomes that impose quiescence on immune cells, thereby creating a tumor microenvironment that supports tumor growth. Bavituximab causes myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumors to differentiate into tumoricidal M1 macrophages that destroy tumor vasculature and tumor cells by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. It also causes immature dendritic cells in tumors to mature and present tumor antigens that result in the generation of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells. Thus, bavituximab reactivates innate & adaptive tumor immunity, and induces an immune cell-mediated shutdown of tumor vasculature. Joseph Shan (Peregrine Pharm.) will then give an update on the performance of bavituximab in clinical trials in patients with cancer. Bavituximab has been shown to be well-tolerated both as a single agent and in combination with approved therapies. Bavituximab has demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity as an adjunct to std. chemotherapy, and is advancing to late stage clinical development in NSCLC.
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Session wrapup: “Given that several of the new agents being described in this session have already been established as safe & effective in clinical trials, there is a high likelihood that some will become approved drugs. This is therefore a timely session that will give a glimpse of what is around the corner.”
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12-5-12 11:00am Philip E. Thorpe, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Serena S. Simmons Distinguished Chair, Univ. of Texas SW
“Overcoming Immune Suppression in Tumors with Bavituximab: Preclinical Studies”
Bavituximab is a monoclonal antibody that is proving safe & effective as a 2nd-Line therapy in advanced lung cancer patients. It targets the immunosuppressive lipid, phosphatidylserine [PS], which becomes exposed on tumor blood vessels & tumor cells. Bavituximab causes MDSCs to differentiate into tumoricidal M1 macrophages that destroy the tumor vasculature and tumor cells by ADCC. It also causes immature dendritic cells in tumors to mature and present tumor antigens, resulting in the generation of tumor-specific cytotoxic T-cells.
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12-5-12 11:30am Joseph Shan, MPH, VP, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“Clinical Development of Bavituximab, a Phosphatidylserine (PS)-Targeting Monoclonal Antibody”
Bavituximab, an investigational monoclonal antibody, localizes selectively on tumor vasculature, synergizes with chemotherapy, causes vascular shut down in tumors and reactivates innate and adaptive tumor immunity. In clinical trials to date, bavituximab has been well-tolerated both as a single agent and in combination with approved therapies. Bavituximab has demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity as an adjunct to standard chemotherapy in several solid tumor indications and is advancing to late-stage clinical development in NSCLC.