Date: 2015-06-26
Type of information: Nomination
Compound:
Company: Oncurious (Belgium)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: nomination
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Disease:
Details: * On June 26, 2015, Oncurious announced the appointment of Prof Dr Peter Carmeliet as its Chief Scientific Strategy Advisor. Since 15 years Prof Carmeliet (VIB Vesalius Research Center, KU Leuven) has focused his research interests on unravelling the molecular basis of neuro-vascular biological processes and diseases, and translating these genetic insights into therapeutic concepts – with the ultimate aspiration to develop novel treatments. Research conducted by Prof Carmeliet’s team at VIB/KU Leuven, in collaboration with Prof Rakesh Jain from the Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard (Boston), generated the first pre-clinical data on the use of human monoclonal antibodies against placental growth factor (PlGF) in the treatment of medulloblastoma. Based on the positive results, TB-403 will be now further developed by Oncurious for the treatment of pediatric tumors. Founded in April 2015, Oncurious is a new oncology company and a joint venture between ThromboGenics and VIB, a leading life sciences institute in Flanders (Belgium). The company will develop TB-403 for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors. TB-403 is a humanized monoclonal antibody against placental growth factor (PlGF). PlGF is expressed in several types of cancer, including medulloblastoma. High expression of the PlGF receptor neuropilin 1 has been shown to correlate with poor overall survival. Medulloblastoma is a rare, life-threatening brain tumor that mainly affects children. Treatment with TB-403 in relevant animal models for medulloblastoma has demonstrated beneficial effects on tumor growth and survival. The antibody can potentially be used in other pediatric cancer indications, including neuroblastoma. Oncurious now plans to start a Phase I/IIa program with TB-403 in medulloblastoma patients. Enrollment of the first patient is expected for the end of 2015.
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