Curie-Cancer, GamaMabs Pharma Extend Partnership On Cancer mAbs
By Cyndi Root
Curie-Cancer and GamaMabs Pharma have extended their partnership to find monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer. The two companies announced the deal in a press release, stating that a clinical trial in 2015 will evaluate the 3C23K antibody in relapsing ovarian cancer. Stéphane Degove, CEO and co-founder of GamaMabs Pharma, said, “In Curie-Cancer, we found all the expertise and support that we needed to roll out our strategy. We connect with researchers and doctors and tap into expertise that complements ours, to access their knowledge of biology and cancer treatment.”
Curie-Cancer and GamaMabs Agreement
Curie-Cancer and GamaMabs concluded their initial partnership agreement in 2013. They presented the results of their work on the 3C23K antibody at the Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium in Seattle in September 2014. The two have renewed the partnership to develop the candidate for ovarian cancer, which they say kills 50,000 people a year in the U.S. and Europe. Of particular interest is relapsing ovarian cancer.
3C32K Antibody
3C32K is a low-fucose antibody that targets the anti-Müllerian hormone receptor (AMHR2) and mobilizes tumor immune cells. The hormone is expressed in adult ovaries in the granulosa cells and in the testicles in the Leydig cells. The AMHR2 hormone is detected in 65 percent of ovarian and endometrial cancers and other gynecological cancers. It is in preclinical development at the Institut Curie, where investigators grafted human tumor samples on mice models. In 2015, clinical trials will investigate the agent in humans.
About GamaMabs Pharma
GamaMabs is a privately held company founded in June 2013 in France. It specializes in monoclonal antibodies (mAb) for oncology indications. 3C23K is its lead program. The company collaborates with academic and industry partners, such as Institut Gustave Roussy, Centre Oscar Lambret, and the Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier (IRCM). GamaMabs utilizes technologies developed at LFB Biotechnologies, including two patented platforms, EMABling and HuMabFc. The company’s strategy is to develop mAbs to the proof-of-concept stage and then to partner with a clinical company for further development.
In November 2014, GamaMabs announced that it had partnered with the Mayo Clinic on the 3C23K antibody. The two will leverage the Mayo Clinic’s panel of 250 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cancer models and utilize the AMHR2 expertise of William A. Cliby, MD, Department of Gynecologic Oncology at the Mayo Clinic.