Avidex and Active Biotech to collaborate on immunotherapeutics

UK biotechnology company Avidex and Swedish company Active Biotech have formed a collaboration to create targeted immunotherapeutics for cancer by bringing together the companies' most powerful protein molecule platforms.

Under the agreement, Active Biotech will bring the intellectual property, know-how and clinical experience it has gained on its proprietary superantigen protein, while Avidex brings its platform of tumour antigen-specific human monoclonal T cell receptors (mTCRs).

The two companies will combine the superantigen with the mTCR as a novel fusion protein. If successful, this fusion protein could unite the targeting specificity of the mTCR with the proven ability of the superantigen to stimulate T cells to kill the target cancer cells. The two companies will work together to make and test these fusion proteins with the intention of creating unique and potent anticancer agents.

Active Biotech already has a successful clinical programme investigating the properties of an antibody (5T4), combined with its proprietary superantigen. The candidate drug TTS CD2 recently successfully con-cluded Phase II clinical trials and the optimised candidate drug TTS-CD3 is currently in Phase I clinical trial. It is the antibody part that is used to target the diseased cells, while the superantigen triggers T cells to kill the tumour cells.

'TTS-CD3, our 5T4 antibody-superantigen fusion protein, is progressing well in its clinical trials. We are already getting promising results from initial trials in patients with some of the most serious of cancers including renal cancer,' said Tomas Leanderson, chief scientific officer of Active Biotech. 'By forming this collaboration with Avidex we are now able to maximise the value of our technology by extending the tumour antigens that can be targeted.'

Avidex has developed mTCRs specific for various tumour-associated antigens including NY-ESO and telomerase. These particular antigens are not accessible by therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Avidex has now re-engineered mTCRs to affinities in the low nanomolar -high picomolar range while maintaining absolute specificity of the binding.

Neill MacKenzie, chief business officer of Avidex, added: 'Active Biotech is a perfect partner for Avidex on this programme.The two technologies are clearly complementary and also the two technical teams have synergistic skills and resources that, we hope, will enable this programme to progress rapidly. We have already produced an mTCR fused to the cytokine, IL-2, so we are confident in being able to produce these new fusion proteins.'