PolyTherics and Spirogen announce research collaboration
To develop novel antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer
UK biotechnology firm PolyTherics and Spirogen, an oncology focused company developing DNA sequence-targeted agents, have formed a research collaboration to develop antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).
PolyTherics will combine its proprietary conjugation chemistry with Spirogen’s highly potent cytotoxic drugs to produce novel ADCs for the treatment of cancer.
The companies will produce the ADCs using PolyTherics’ TheraPEG linker technology to site-specifically conjugate Spirogen’s potent pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBDs) cytotoxic agents – known as warheads – to antibodies and antibody fragments. They will then test the potency of the resulting ADCs in preclinical models of cancer.
The firms will jointly seek partners to develop the most promising ADC candidates arising from the collaboration.