OGD2 Pharma and University Hospital of Zurich start collaboration on Innovative Immunotherapy in Brain Cancer
Date: 29.11.2016
Nantes, France, 29 November 2016 - OGD2 Pharma SAS, a biotechnology company developing innovative anti-cancer therapies targeting a newly discovered antigen, the O-acetylated form of the GD2 ganglioside (OAcGD2), today announces the signature of a strategic collaboration agreement with a renowed research group specialized in glioblastoma immunotherapy, resistance, and cancer stem cells led by Pr. Michael Weller, head of the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.
The collaboration will explore the expression of OAcGD2 antigen in tumors from patients with glioblastoma and the potential of anti-OACGD2 monoclonal antibodies to treat a panel of resistant glioblastoma tumors, alone or in combination with standard treatments such as temozolomide and irradiation. Pr. Weller's team will first conduct efficacy studies in preclinical models with anti-OAcGD2 monoclonal antibodies, with the perspective of initiating a first-in-human clinical trial for relapsing glioblastoma patients.
"As detailed in our recent strategic update, OGD2 Pharma continues exploring the potential of therapies targeting the OAcGD2 antigen in various cancers. This collaboration follows a first proof-of- concept study conducted in animal models and published in 2016 ( Fleurence et al, 2016 )," said Jean-Marc Le Doussal, President at OGD2 Pharma. "Pr. Weller's team huge experience in glioblastoma clinics, biology and models of resistance will be transformational to understand how to use novel OAcGD2 immunotherapies in glioblastoma patients. We are excited to collaborate with this world- renowned team to accelerate the development of our lead antibody candidate, that could be a new treatment option for these patients with high unmet medical need." he added.
Pr. Michael Weller, Principal Investigator and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Zurich commented "Glioblastoma remains a disease area of high unmet clinical need. OGD2 Pharma has developed an antibody targeting the O-acetyl-GD2 antigen that has shown very promising activity in preliminary studies in glioma models. We are very interested to collaborate with OGD2 Pharma to explore the potential of this novel approach to treat brain cancer".
About the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital and the University of Zurich : www.neurologie.usz.ch
The Department of Neurology at the University Hospital in Zurich pursues as one of its major research areas the development of novel treatment approaches for brain cancer, with a particular focus on immunotherapy. Such novel treatment approaches are usually first explored in experimental models, but several early clinical trials of immunotherapy to improve the outcome of human brain cancer patients are also conducted in Zurich.
About OGD2 Pharma: www.ogd2pharma.com
OGD2 Pharma SAS, headquartered in Nantes, France, is a pre-clinical stage privately-held biotechnology company. Our mission is to research, develop and commercialize, with pharmaceutical partners, safe and efficacious cancer immunotherapies targeting the O-acetylated form of the GD2 ganglioside (OAcGD2). Pipeline includes OGD201 humanized monoclonal antibody (EMA Orphan Drug Designation for neuroblastoma), chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), antibody drug conjugates and companion diagnostic products.
About O-acetylated-GD2
As its first cousin GD2, the OAcGD2 glycolipid is expressed at high copy numbers in the membrane of tumor cells in many types of pediatric cancers (such as neuroblastoma) and adult cancers (such as glioblastoma, melanoma, sarcoma, breast cancer, etc.) and on cancer stem cells. Remarkably, and by contrast to GD2, OAcGD2 is not expressed by normal nerves and brain tissues.
Contacts: OGD2 Pharma
Alliance Management
Samuel Salot
Business Development
Farid Bouzidi
This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
Source: OGD2 Pharma via GlobeNewswire
