Caprion Pharmaceuticals acquires antibody clinical program

Caprion Pharmaceuticals, from Quebec, Canada, has acquired Sunol Molecular's therapeutic antibody clinical program and antibody technologies.

The antibodies are currently being used in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) resulting from E. coli infection, as well as technologies for the generation and production of humanised monoclonal antibodies.

'This acquisition of both a clinical program and proprietary compound development technologies represents an important transition for us toward becoming a more fully integrated biopharmaceutical company while adding to our ability to drive value off of our distinctive CellCarta discovery platform,' said Lloyd Segal, Caprion's president and ceo. 'Moreover, we are excited about the potential of the HUS program in that it addresses a significant, un-served market.'

Annually, more than 200,000 people are affected by E. coli-related disease, with approximately 91,000 of those occurring in the US. There is currently no effective treatment to prevent the life threatening complications that can result from pathogenic E. coli infection. E. coli toxins cause tissue damage leading to HUS, kidney failure and severe brain damage, especially in children and the elderly.

'As the HUS program prepared to enter Phase II clinical trials under the direction of a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we wanted to ensure that it received the focus, resources and attention required for the program's success,' commented Dr. Hing Wong, Sunol's ceo. 'We have found a partner that is well positioned financially and has the expertise to drive this program. This collaboration will also allow Sunol to focus on its core areas of interest, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.'

Caprion will apply the antibody technologies to the development of its pipeline of proprietary tumor antigen targets discovered using CellCarta, its proteomic profiling platform technology. Initially, the focus of this development will be on the generation of antibody therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumours.