Navigo Proteins, a protein engineering company developing optimised scaffold protein-based affinity ligands, has announced an extension of its ongoing partnership with ITM SE, a radiopharmaceutical biotech company. Under the agreement, the companies are working to develop targeted radiopharmaceutical candidates for the treatment of cancer by combining Navigo’s Affilin ligands with ITM’s medical radioisotopes. The partnership will now be further strengthened by the addition of another targeted radionuclide therapy project in the precision oncology field.
Henning Afflerbach, CEO of Navigo Proteins commented: “We have very promising ongoing projects with ITM, and this continuation and expansion of our partnership validates our Affilin based approach for creating pure and precise next-generation radiotherapeutics. Navigo’s Precision Targeting toolbox allows the design and development of highly homogenous, Affilin radio conjugates with fine tunable half-lives.”
“We are delighted to continue working with Navigo Proteins and building upon our productive partnership. Our high-quality radioisotopes coupled with Navigo’s Affilin ligands have the opportunity to unlock an array of precision oncology therapeutics to help patients living with hard-to-treat tumors by positively impacting current treatment algorithms,” commented Steffen Schuster, CEO of ITM.
Affilin ligands enable the design of short and long half-life radio conjugates for imaging and therapeutic applications. The target-specific ligands are described by the companies as a perfect fit for ITM’s precision oncology pipeline covering several cancer indications, including neuroendocrine tumours, prostate cancer, glioblastoma, osteosarcoma and bone metastases, as well as folate receptor α positive tumours like lung, ovarian or breast cancer.