BioCellChallenge SAS Extends Technology Patent For Antibody Internalization To North America
The company now focuses on collaborative project opportunities to capitalize on its ImmunoCellin technology in ADC programs for cancer treatment
Toulon, France, April 19, 2016 - BioCellChallenge SAS, a company specialized in the design and development of internalization technologies allowing biologic's delivery into living cells, today announces the extension of its patent for the use of triazamacrocyclic lipid complexes for protein and, more specifically, antibody transport.
The patent was first filed in January 2013 in France and was recently extended to the US, Canada and the whole of Europe. A number of successful in vitro and in vivo tests have already been conducted in oncology. These confirm the efficacy of the ImmunoCellin technology in allowing antibodies to pass through the cell membrane.
Now that the value of its technology has been demonstrated in therapeutic approaches against cancer, BioCellChallenge can focus on setting up collaborative projects in the North American market.
Nicolas Groux, operations director of the Mabdesign membership organization, said: “There is a real market need for this intracellular delivery technology. BioCellChallenge is the only one of our member companies developing it. In scenarios where this is the required mechanism of action, any technology that supports the delivery of an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) right into the heart of the cancer cell adds value to molecules in development or already on the market. ADCs are monoclonal antibodies that have been combined with a cytotoxic agent, helping to destroy the cancer cell from the inside. Facilitating the internalization of the ADC is crucial as these agents are 100 to 1,000 times more cytotoxic than standard chemotherapy agents. Delivering the ADC directly into the cytosol both reduces the amount of toxins required and significantly limits their spread throughout the body.”
“A number of major pharmaceutical companies have shown considerable interest in our technology,” said Martine Pillot, associate and managing director of BioCellChallenge. “To date, no single technology has really proven its worth when it comes to antibody internalization. The big advantage of our technology is that it does not use endocytic pathways. This allows ADCs combined with ImmunoCellin to penetrate the cytosol directly, rather than remaining trapped in an endocytic vesicle. This approach significantly increases the toxin concentration in the cytosol, thereby offering a considerable improvement in efficacy for the same quantity of toxin injected. It could help in overcoming drug resistance, or even lead to the revival of programs that were canceled for reasons of excess toxicity or lack of efficacy. This provides a wealth of opportunities for collaboration in the US, which is home to 60% of the global market for antibodies.”
While just two oncology ADCs are commercially available at present, the market is expected to reach $3 billion (€2.66bn) in 2018. With nearly 57 molecules in clinical trials in 2015 (compared with 44 in 2014 and 32 in 2013), almost all of them in cancer treatment, this also presents a medical challenge and substantial prospects for growth.
BioCellChallenge now has its sights set on collaborative projects with pharmaceutical and biotech companies in Europe and North America. In the next few months it is set to expand its scientific team by recruiting two PhD researchers. The company plans to bolster its intellectual property over a medium-term horizon of one to two years with a new patent to cover a peptide delivery system; the subject of ongoing studies.
About BioCellChallenge
Founded in 2009, BioCellChallenge SAS is a biotechnology company providing best-in-class cell internalization technologies for novel drug designs and developments. The development of many potentially active ingredients often comes to a halt due to a lack of effective technology to transport them to their target. BioCellChallenge has developed specific formulations for transporting proteins, peptides and antibodies; allowing therapeutic molecules to pass through the cell membrane into living cells. www.biocellchallenge.com
Toulon, France, April 19, 2016 - BioCellChallenge SAS, a company specialized in the design and development of internalization technologies allowing biologic's delivery into living cells, today announces the extension of its patent for the use of triazamacrocyclic lipid complexes for protein and, more specifically, antibody transport.
The patent was first filed in January 2013 in France and was recently extended to the US, Canada and the whole of Europe. A number of successful in vitro and in vivo tests have already been conducted in oncology. These confirm the efficacy of the ImmunoCellin technology in allowing antibodies to pass through the cell membrane.
Now that the value of its technology has been demonstrated in therapeutic approaches against cancer, BioCellChallenge can focus on setting up collaborative projects in the North American market.
Nicolas Groux, operations director of the Mabdesign membership organization, said: “There is a real market need for this intracellular delivery technology. BioCellChallenge is the only one of our member companies developing it. In scenarios where this is the required mechanism of action, any technology that supports the delivery of an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) right into the heart of the cancer cell adds value to molecules in development or already on the market. ADCs are monoclonal antibodies that have been combined with a cytotoxic agent, helping to destroy the cancer cell from the inside. Facilitating the internalization of the ADC is crucial as these agents are 100 to 1,000 times more cytotoxic than standard chemotherapy agents. Delivering the ADC directly into the cytosol both reduces the amount of toxins required and significantly limits their spread throughout the body.”
“A number of major pharmaceutical companies have shown considerable interest in our technology,” said Martine Pillot, associate and managing director of BioCellChallenge. “To date, no single technology has really proven its worth when it comes to antibody internalization. The big advantage of our technology is that it does not use endocytic pathways. This allows ADCs combined with ImmunoCellin to penetrate the cytosol directly, rather than remaining trapped in an endocytic vesicle. This approach significantly increases the toxin concentration in the cytosol, thereby offering a considerable improvement in efficacy for the same quantity of toxin injected. It could help in overcoming drug resistance, or even lead to the revival of programs that were canceled for reasons of excess toxicity or lack of efficacy. This provides a wealth of opportunities for collaboration in the US, which is home to 60% of the global market for antibodies.”
While just two oncology ADCs are commercially available at present, the market is expected to reach $3 billion (€2.66bn) in 2018. With nearly 57 molecules in clinical trials in 2015 (compared with 44 in 2014 and 32 in 2013), almost all of them in cancer treatment, this also presents a medical challenge and substantial prospects for growth.
BioCellChallenge now has its sights set on collaborative projects with pharmaceutical and biotech companies in Europe and North America. In the next few months it is set to expand its scientific team by recruiting two PhD researchers. The company plans to bolster its intellectual property over a medium-term horizon of one to two years with a new patent to cover a peptide delivery system; the subject of ongoing studies.
About BioCellChallenge
Founded in 2009, BioCellChallenge SAS is a biotechnology company providing best-in-class cell internalization technologies for novel drug designs and developments. The development of many potentially active ingredients often comes to a halt due to a lack of effective technology to transport them to their target. BioCellChallenge has developed specific formulations for transporting proteins, peptides and antibodies; allowing therapeutic molecules to pass through the cell membrane into living cells. www.biocellchallenge.com