VIAMUNE, INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: 300

Description

Project Summary The use of monoclonal antibodiesmAbsfor cancer therapy has achieved considerable successleading to breakthroughs in the treatment of many types of cancerIn most cases cancer mAbs act by distinguishing normal and tumor cells by the extent of elevated expression of the target protein on the tumor cellAs there is no structural difference in the binding epitopes seen on normal and tumor cellsmAbs are still able to bind and effect normal cellseven if the target protein is expressed at low levelsAs a result existing mAbs on the market can have significant side effects which disallows use for many patientsDevelopment of numerous mAbs against novel tumor targets have incurred insurmountable hurdles due to off target effectsThe goal of this project is develop mAb based therapeutics that exhibit superior selectivities and efficacies by combined targeting of proteins that are overexpressed by cancer cells and the presence of tumorassociated aberrant glycosylationTo achieve the goal of tumor specific targetingwe are focused on exploiting a specific glycan structure that is found on the cell surface of most solid tumors including those of the breastlung and colonThis aberrant glycan exposes protein epitopes on cancer cells that are normally shielded on healthy tissuesThere are numerous cell surface proteins that have a high potential of displaying these aberrant glycans and are known to be over expressed on major cancersFor this proposal we are focusing on a target of a current therapeutic on the market thatwhile very effectivecan cause significant side effects in a number of patientsWe will generate an antibody based therapeutic that addresses problematic toxicity associated with the existing therapeuticWe will use a novel immunogen platform and methodologytermed GTIto generate mAbs with high affinity and specificity for proteinsThese mAbs will be developed in such that they only recognize target proteins when modified with the tumor specific aberrant glycansNot only will novel and improved therapeutics result from this projectit will serve as proof of a principle that employing tumor specific aberrant glycosylation in the context of over expressed tumor associated proteins is a defining methodology for the generation of truly tumor specific therapeutic agents