MD Anderson and Radiopharm Theranostics have formed Radiopharm Ventures to develop new radiopharmaceuticals for treating various tumors.
MD Anderson and Radiopharm Theranostics partner to produce radiopharmaceuticals
September 21, 2022
by John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has teamed up with Radiopharm Theranostics to launch Radiopharm Ventures, a new venture dedicated to developing new radiopharmaceutical solutions for treating various tumors.
With Radiopharm Theranostics experience, MD Anderson will use its technologies in antigen discovery and molecular imaging to develop the products.
It will start with four radiopharmaceutical solutions, the first potential one being a humanized immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody for targeted tumor-specific antigen B7-H3, also known as CD276. The antigen is highly expressive in several common tumors but not healthy cells.
“Based on our early preclinical data, B7-H3 represents a promising radiotherapeutic target, and we look forward to having the opportunity to work with the team at Radiopharm with the goal of advancing our therapeutic candidate toward future clinical studies,” said Dr. David Piwnica-Worms, chair of Cancer Systems Imaging at MD Anderson, in a statement.
Developed in Piwnica-Worms’ laboratory, B7-H3 has shown promise in preclinical studies in being able to eliminate resistant colorectal cancers.
In addition to this, MD Anderson has also extensively characterized the cancer surfaceome, which is the catalog of proteins found specifically on the surface of various types of cancer cells.
“The cancer surfaceome holds a wealth of information about antigens restricted to cancer. Mining the data, generated at the petabyte level, has uncovered many compelling targets that have not previously been explored, and we are pleased for the opportunity to collaborate with Radiopharm in developing innovative new treatment options for some targets,” said Dr. Samir Hanash, professor of clinical cancer prevention, who is largely responsible for the progress made in this area of research.
MD Anderson has designed novel platforms for identifying and validating tumor-specific antigens that it can use to develop new radiopharmaceuticals.
These solutions have enabled clinicians to identify novel targets with cancer-restricted expression, and will allow Radiopharm Ventures to select additional targets from this data set and prioritize selection based on unmet needs in oncology.
Once targets have been selected, Radiopharm Ventures will collaborate with Hanash and Piwnica-Worms to build on the preclinical development of these potential therapeutic candidates.
With Radiopharm Theranostics experience, MD Anderson will use its technologies in antigen discovery and molecular imaging to develop the products.
It will start with four radiopharmaceutical solutions, the first potential one being a humanized immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody for targeted tumor-specific antigen B7-H3, also known as CD276. The antigen is highly expressive in several common tumors but not healthy cells.
“Based on our early preclinical data, B7-H3 represents a promising radiotherapeutic target, and we look forward to having the opportunity to work with the team at Radiopharm with the goal of advancing our therapeutic candidate toward future clinical studies,” said Dr. David Piwnica-Worms, chair of Cancer Systems Imaging at MD Anderson, in a statement.
Developed in Piwnica-Worms’ laboratory, B7-H3 has shown promise in preclinical studies in being able to eliminate resistant colorectal cancers.
In addition to this, MD Anderson has also extensively characterized the cancer surfaceome, which is the catalog of proteins found specifically on the surface of various types of cancer cells.
“The cancer surfaceome holds a wealth of information about antigens restricted to cancer. Mining the data, generated at the petabyte level, has uncovered many compelling targets that have not previously been explored, and we are pleased for the opportunity to collaborate with Radiopharm in developing innovative new treatment options for some targets,” said Dr. Samir Hanash, professor of clinical cancer prevention, who is largely responsible for the progress made in this area of research.
MD Anderson has designed novel platforms for identifying and validating tumor-specific antigens that it can use to develop new radiopharmaceuticals.
These solutions have enabled clinicians to identify novel targets with cancer-restricted expression, and will allow Radiopharm Ventures to select additional targets from this data set and prioritize selection based on unmet needs in oncology.
Once targets have been selected, Radiopharm Ventures will collaborate with Hanash and Piwnica-Worms to build on the preclinical development of these potential therapeutic candidates.