Endocyte Awarded Patent for Vitamin Receptor Binding Drug Delivery Conjugates.WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Officials at Endocyte Inc., a cancer drug discovery and development company, announced Tuesday (Oct. 27, 2009) that the company has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering vitamin receptor binding anti-cancer agents. The patent, entitled "Vitamin Receptor Binding Drug Delivery Conjugates" (U.S. Patent No. 7,601,332), covers novel conjugation conjugation, in genetics conjugation, in genetics: see recombination. conjugation, in grammar conjugation: see inflection. linkages and anti-cancer agents, including Endocyte's EC145, which is currently in development as a potential treatment for ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers. The patent represents years of research into Endocyte's groundbreaking technology that links potent anti-cancer agents to receptor binding moieties on the surfaces of cells. The technology utilizes a proprietary "linker" technology that connects the anti-cancer agent to the appropriate receptor binding moiety moiety: see clan. to form a conjugate conjugate /con·ju·gate/ (kon´jdbobr-gat) 1. paired, or equally coupled; working in unison. 2. a conjugate diameter of the pelvic inlet; used alone usually to denote the true conjugate diameter; see . The moiety enables the conjugate to remain stable while in circulation and be delivered selectively into cancer cells. The novel "linker" causes the anti-cancer agent to be released in its intact and fully active form within the cells. This patented combination of targeting moiety-linker-drug conjugates describe a number of Endocyte conjugates, including its lead drug candidate, EC145, which uses the vitamin folate folate /fo·late/ (fo´lat) 1. the anionic form of folic acid. 2. more generally, any of a group of substances containing a form of pteroic acid conjugated with l-glutamic acid and having a variety of substitutions. as the targeting moiety and which is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials. "This technology platform positions Endocyte to continue to create a new generation of powerful drugs in the years ahead that can target cancer and other diseased cells with high precision to significantly improve both safety and efficacy profiles of existing and new therapeutics," said Christopher Leamon, Ph.D., Endocyte's vice president of research. "The Phase II data from our most advanced therapeutic, EC145, has been promising and we have a strong pipeline of new compounds in preclinical and clinical development." Endocyte's growing technology portfolio also includes patented targeted imaging agents, including EC20 which is currently in clinical-stage development as a molecular diagnostic tool to identify patients with folate receptor positive cancer. As a result, EC20 may be able to help doctors identify those patients most likely to respond to treatment with agents like EC145, which is designed to target folate receptors on cancer cells. "Our progress with EC145 and EC20 indicate that the Endocyte receptor-targeting technology platform could have a profound positive impact on disease diagnosis and targeted treatment in the years ahead," said Ron Ellis, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Endocyte. About Endocyte Endocyte is a privately held biotechnology company with headquarters in the Purdue Research Park Purdue Research Park is a 591-acre research park located in West Lafayette, Indiana, less than 3 miles north of Purdue University's West Lafayette campus. The park is under the continuing development of the Purdue Research Foundation and is currently the largest certified of West Lafayette. Based on the applications of Endocyte's advanced proprietary Drug Guidance System (DGS), the company is working to develop new drugs and diagnostic agents to treat many types of cancer and other serious diseases. The DGS platform makes it possible to use highly potent drugs on extended and frequent dosing schedules and in combination with other drugs to maximize efficacy. The technology is being developed to improve drug targeting and reduce the risk of side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. by combining drugs with ligands that are able to identify and attach to receptors found on tumor and other disease cells. Endocyte's clinical development of EC20 and EC145 is progressing with the recent completion of accrual for the Phase 2a trials in advanced ovarian and lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. . EC20 and EC145 are now being studied in an international randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. Phase 2b trial of EC145 in combination with Doxil([R]) for the treatment of women with platinum resistant ovarian cancer ovarian cancer Malignant tumour of the ovaries. Risk factors include early age of first menstruation (before age 12), late onset of menopause (after age 52), absence of pregnancy, presence of specific genetic mutations, use of fertility drugs, and personal history of breast . Other clinical-stage products in the Endocyte pipeline include EC0225, a targeted combination of two potent anticancer drugs; BMS BMS abbr. Bachelor of Marine Science 753493, a potent drug being developed in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb; EC0489, a targeted cancer drug and EC17, a targeted immunotherapy agent. The company also has multiple product candidates in pre-clinical stage of development. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion