Biopharm Startup to Commercialize Antibody Therapy for Drug Resistant Cancers

A biopharm startup company has licensed the rights to commercialize an antibody-based approach for treatment of drug resistant cancers.

The new company, CadheRx Therapeutics (La Jolla, CA, USA), entered into a licensing agreement with Stony Brook University (NY, USA) to develop and market an anticancer technology derived from research performed in the laboratory of Dr. Sabine Brouxhon, associate professor of emergency medicine at Stony Brook University.

Dr. Brouxhon's approach is based on antibodies that target soluble E-cadherin. Soluble E-cadherin levels have been shown to be elevated in the microenvirnoment of many solid tumors and contribute to enhanced tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, which is linked to metastatic disease.

“One of the most significant drawbacks from current cancer treatments is that despite their initial effectiveness against solid tumors, patients often develop resistance to these treatments,” said Dr. Brouxhon. “Our lab has discovered a novel antibody-based cancer therapy that acts through a completely different mechanism of action compared to existing drugs in industry. Notably, the antibody down-regulates multiple resistant pathways, thereby minimizing the cancer cells ability to recruit many interconnected oncogenes that are linked with resistant disease.”

Under terms of the licensing agreement CadheRx Therapeutics will create targeted antibody agents to counter de novo or acquired resistance. The company is financially backed by Avalon Ventures (La Jolla, CA, USA) and is one of six startup companies formed from collaboration between Avalon Ventures and GlaxoSmithKline (London, United Kingdom) that began in April 2013.

“It is extraordinarily exciting to see a basic research discovery from a Stony Brook University scientist turn into something that might improve people’s lives in a very powerful way,” said Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., president of Stony Brook University. “Cancer affects millions of people worldwide, and Dr. Brouxhon’s work on this new anticancer technology offers continued hope in the fight against many forms of cancer.”

Related Links:
Stony Brook University
Avalon Ventures
GlaxoSmithKline