Purdue and Akston Biosciences Sign Partnership Agreement for Dog Cancer Drug Development
13 Agosto 2024 - 7:42AM
Business Wire
Akston Biosciences Corporation, dedicated to accelerating the
biologics revolution in Animal Health, and Purdue University, today
announced a strategic partnership to co-develop an anti-cPD-L1
monoclonal antibody (mAb) immunotherapy to treat cancer in
dogs.
The underlying technology was developed at Purdue University’s
College of Veterinary Medicine and the Purdue Institute for Cancer
Research (PICR). As one of only seven National Cancer
Institute-designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers in the U.S.,
PICR focuses on foundational science that advances cancer
detection, prevention and therapies. In the partnership, Akston has
received an exclusive option to license the anti-cPD-L1 mAb and
will serve as a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization
(CDMO) to further develop and produce the antibody at its facility
in Beverly, Massachusetts.
A clinical trial evaluating the anti-cPD-L1 mAb is expected to
begin later this year in companion dogs with bladder cancer. The
trial will be conducted at Purdue and is supported in part by a
grant from the National Cancer Institute in the PRE-medical Cancer
Immunotherapy Network Canine Trials Consortium (PRECINCT) U01
program, and by the Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center at
Purdue University. Akston Biosciences will provide the anti-cPD-L1
mAb for the trial. The trial will confirm the safety,
pharmacokinetics, and antitumor effects of the mAb. Parallel
studies will be performed to determine the effects of the mAb on
the anti-tumor immune responses in the dogs.
Through this partnership, Akston will add another potential
therapy for treating cancer, expanding its rich pipeline of
candidates for Animal Health conditions, including chronic pain,
atopic dermatitis and obesity.
“Purdue Veterinary Medicine is an excellent partner for Akston
as we seek to develop an array of new products to treat cancer in
pets,” said Todd Zion, PhD, President & CEO of Akston
Biosciences. “Through in-licensing, this opportunity demonstrates
Akston’s commitment to add innovative products invented outside of
Akston to our strong pipeline of homegrown therapeutics developed
via Akston’s Ambifect® Fc-fusion platform.”
“Partnering with Akston to further develop and manufacture our
cPD-L1 mAb is instrumental in developing this cancer therapy for
dogs,” said Deborah Knapp, Director of the Werling Comparative
Oncology Research Center at the Purdue University College of
Veterinary Medicine and Distinguished Professor of Comparative
Oncology. “Immune checkpoint blockade therapy, currently one of the
most promising cancer immunotherapies, has shown remarkable
clinical impact in multiple human cancer types. As a result, we
expect that this mAb will have a strong impact in canine oncology
as well.”
About Akston Biosciences
Akston Biosciences Corporation is dedicated to accelerating the
biologics revolution in Animal Health by in-licensing, inventing,
developing, and manufacturing breakthrough protein therapeutics for
veterinary use. Its vertically integrated capabilities, including a
kilogram-scale cGMP manufacturing facility dedicated to Animal
Health, can significantly reduce the time and cost from discovery
to commercial introduction. Akston leverages its Ambifect®
Fc-fusion protein platform to create innovative, extended-duration
biologics and therapeutic vaccines. Its facilities are located in
Beverly, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at
www.akstonbio.com.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating
excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and
with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue
discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale
second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across
modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the
West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and
accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in
a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the
next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in
Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes
and the One Health initiative — at
https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact
the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For
more information about involvement and investment opportunities in
startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at
purdueinnovates@prf.org.
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Linda Pendergast-Savage Birnbach Communications for Akston
Biosciences 508-224-7905 lpendergastsavage@birnbachcom.com