CatenaBio Selected to Present on its Next Generation Platform and Multi Payload Conjugates (MPC®) at the Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase @JPM

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CatenaBio, a biotechnology company pioneering protein conjugation technologies for novel therapeutic development, today announced that it has been selected by the Innovative Genomics Institute, a joint effort between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, to present on its proprietary CysTyr® Conjugation platform at the Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

CatenaBio was founded to develop novel therapeutics by forming never-before-possible structures enabled by its proprietary technology, which can modify and combine proteins with unmatched selectivity. The company’s CysTyr® platform utilizes the novel Catenase® enzyme, engineered to selectively attach tyrosine residues with cysteine residues to form the proprietary C-Y Bond®. Catena is developing a first-in-class pipeline of Multi Payload Conjugates (MPC®) to deliver targeted combination therapies designed to overcome tumor resistance and potentially lead to superior efficacy and toxicity profiles.

“2023 has been a productive year for the CatenaBio team, and we look forward to sharing new data on the potential of our pioneering protein conjugation technologies with the life sciences community who will be gathered in the Bay Area for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference,” said Marco Lobba, PhD, co-founder and CEO of CatenaBio. “We believe that Multi-Payload Conjugates represent the next evolution in ADC design, enabling the combination of multiple mechanisms of action in a single antibody, opening new possibilities in improved patient outcomes in oncology.”

CatenaBio recently unveiled study results (Abstract PO5-27-10) at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, highlighting the successful utilization of its CysTyr® Conjugation platform to create a modular library of MPCs®. Tested in vitro across multiple HER2+ cell lines, the MPCs® demonstrated improved efficacy compared to the current standard of care, DS8201a (T-DXd). The innovative C-Y Bond® utilized in these MPCs®, relying on naturally occurring amino acids, showed improved stability in serum, potentially enhancing safety and efficacy.

“Combination chemotherapies have been the standard of care for decades in oncology, but the industry has lacked a conjugation technology that allows multiple payloads on the same antibody while allowing for the union of complex next-generation cargo,” said Rick Kendall, PhD, Chief Science Officer at CatenaBio. “The greater stability of Catena’s C-Y Bond® and well-defined drug-to-antibody ratio offers the potential of incorporating payloads with differentiated MOAs to create more efficacious targeted therapies capable of bypassing cancer resistance mechanisms.”

The Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase @JPM event will take place on Tuesday, January 9th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco. Registration information can be found online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/berkeley-bio-startup-showcase-jpm-tickets-755799214797.

“CatenaBio is honored to be part of this year’s Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase and to represent the incredible innovation that has been born out of the University of California,” said Saurabh Johri, Chief Business Officer at Catena. “We are seeing increased interest and deal activity from big pharma to apply our technology across diverse modalities and look forward to sharing important updates about our progress with investors and potential partners who continue to show excitement about our ability to synthesize and create novel therapeutics.”

About CatenaBio

CatenaBio began operations in May 2021 and is based on technology developed in the Doudna and Francis Labs at the University of California, Berkeley. The company’s patented CysTyr® platform enables the fusion of novel biomolecules in any structure, combination, or orientation—the only limitation is imagination. With an initial focus in oncology, the platform has applications across multiple therapeutic areas. CatenaBio is the recipient of an NIH SBIR grant and the American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge Golden Ticket at UC Berkeley’s Bakar Labs. Its investors include Amgen, Social Impact Capital, the California Innovation Fund, Gaingels, NYBC Ventures, MBX Capital, Reinforced Ventures, and the American Cancer Society. For more information, please visit catenabio.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

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