Melbourne, Australia; 20 June, 2011: Patrys Limited (ASX: PAB; Company), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel treatments for cancer, has today announced multiple preclinical collaborations to support the development program of lead anti-cancer compound PAT-SM6.
PAT-SM6 is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial for melanoma at Royal Adelaide Hospital. Patrys is extending its preclinical program to generate additional data and evidence to supplement the ongoing clinical program. This new program will also allow Patrys to work more closely with key specialist contract research organisations, an important element towards the successful commercialisation of PAT-SM6.
Preclinical work on Patrys’ R&D pipeline of natural human antibody therapeutics has to date largely been conducted in-house at the Company’s research facility in Wurzburg, Germany. In order to expand and accelerate the Company’s commercialisation program, Patrys has signed collaborations with Clarity Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd and vivoPharm Pty Ltd.
“Undertaking further preclinical work on a drug compound in parallel with a clinical program can lead to superior outcomes, particularly when the compound has multiple disease targets,” said Patrys’ Dr Marie Roskrow.
“The establishment and continuation of these relationships reflects both the collaborative approach to our R&D and the clinical focus of the programs. In addition, the preclinical studies will add to the body of evidence moulding the PAT-SM6 development pathway.”
Clarity Pharmaceuticals is a company with intellectual property specific to radio-labelling biologics including antibodies for imaging purposes. Clarity has access to a vast network of resources and specialist equipment located at the University of Queensland, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organisation. Patrys will undertake imaging studies with its clinical candidate PAT-SM6 to better understand both localisation and distribution, which will assist in the design of future clinical programs.
The second collaboration is with vivoPharm, a highly respected contract research organisation specialising in both in vitro and in vivo preclinical concept validation. vivoPharm has many years of experience using human xenograft tumour models and offers a range of more than 60 fully characterised cell lines that can be used for various tumour models, in addition to providing preclinical toxicology capabilities. Patrys has already initiated a number of studies at vivoPharm to support the PAT-SM6 clinical program.
Patrys Vice President, Research and Development, Dr. Frank Hensel added: “Tapping into specialist expertise to assist in answering fundamental questions about PAT-SM6 is essential for the accelerated progress of our clinical program and extends our preclinical package.”
