Radiopharm Theranostics has partnered with a US research centre to launch Radiopharm Ventures — a joint venture that aims to develop radiopharmaceutical therapeutic products to help in the fight against cancer.
The new company has been created in partnership with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre and will initially focus on developing at least four therapeutic products based on the centre’s intellectual property.
According to the two parent companies, Radiopharm Ventures brings together MD Anderson’s innovative and proprietary technologies in antigen discovery and molecular imaging with Radiopharm’s expertise in developing radiopharmaceutical products.
Radiopharmaceuticals are designed to deliver small doses of radiation to specifically targeted cells for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.
Radiopharm Theranostics will own 51 per cent of the new joint venture with the MD Anderson centre holding the remaining 49 per cent.
Radiopharm Theranostics Chief Executive Officer, Riccardo Canevari said: “Radiopharmaceuticals continue to be rapidly developed as a highly promising therapeutic frontier in oncology. We are pleased to have this opportunity to collaborate with MD Anderson and its tremendous scientists as we work to make significant in-roads into cancer therapy for the benefit of patients.”
The ASX-listed company says MD Anderson researchers have established novel platforms to discover and validate tumour specific antigens, offering promising candidates for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.
The first potential therapeutic candidate is an antibody against the tumour-specific antigen B7-H3, also known as CD276, that can be found in several common tumours but not in healthy cells.
Pre-clinical studies suggest the candidate radiotherapeutic antibody is effective in eliminating resistant colorectal cancers in laboratory models.
The MD Anderson centre is based in Houston and considered one of the world’s most respected cancer patient care, research, education and prevention institutions.
The new joint venture continues a trend of big moves in the United States for Radiopharm Theranostics.
Earlier this month a bone cancer treatment technology licenced by the ASX-listed company was granted orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The approval is for a tumour-killing antibody known as DUNP19 that targets a substance produced by aggressive cancer cells and cells in the surrounding micro-environment, but not healthy normal tissue.
Orphan drug designation recipients receive benefits and incentives including tax credits for qualified clinical trials, exemption from user fees and a potential seven years of market exclusivity following the drug’s approval.
In April, Radiopharm signed an exclusive licensing agreement with University of California Los Angeles Technology Development Group to licence the promising antibody.
The agreement permits Radiopharm to develop radiotherapeutic products using DUNP19, however UCLA retains ownership of the DUNP19 intellectual property.
It seems that Radiopharm has little problem finding fellow travellers on the road to a cancer-free world.
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By Matt Birney
