Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ymmunobio (YB) is excited to share that they in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have received Innosuisse support to develop innovative radioactive loaded antibodies for the treatment and diagnostic of solid tumors based on YBs proprietary YB-800. The Innosuisse support validates Ymmunobio's approach to targeted solid tumor therapy using a new and first in class target with a high prevalence in cancer patients. Continue Reading Ymmunobio: Cancer Therapies for Tomorrow & Beyond The newly developed antibodies will utilize a linker attached to YB-800, capable of carrying any radioactive isotope for the treatment and diagnostic of solid tumors. Ymmunobio plans to leverage this cutting-edge technology to treat patients with solid tumors who express the new marker. Radiolabeled antibodies will enhance physicians' ability to diagnose using SPECT imaging while simultaneously targeting solid tumors that evade current therapies, paving the way for more personalized and effective treatment strategies. Dr. Peter Schiemann, Ymmunobio CEO and Chair of the Board says: "The support by Innosuisse validates our novel and first in class approach to solid tumor treatment and improving patient outcomes through advanced diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. We are proud to have received this Innosuisse validation and to have found an exceptional partner to co-develop these new treatment options for patients. Together, YB and PSI are pioneering advances in diagnostics and treatments in oncology, working towards a future where healthcare is more personalized, precise, and effective for all patients." Dr. Martin Behe, project leader at PSI, is excited about project: "Radiolabeled compounds for cancer therapy and diagnosis have attracted significant attention from both physicians and the industry. Several of these radiopharmaceuticals have been successfully tested in clinical trials and are now routinely used in therapies, such as for prostate cancer. We are excited to collaborate with Ymmunobio in developing a radiolabeled antibody to further improve cancer treatment. This project is made possible with the support of Innosuisse." Ymmunobio is at the forefront of oncology research, focusing on a novel target receptor for the treatment of solid tumors with high unmet need. Currently, in pre-clinical development, Ymmunobio's research is dedicated to advancing three treatment options for GI cancers, with their innovative platform: YB-800ADC carrying up to 8 payloads with a linker of the 3rd generation YB-800R1 (therapeutic) and YB-800R2 (diagnostic) antibodies carrying radioactive isotopes in collaboration with PSI YB-800BS, bi-specific antibodies with an aCD3 T-Cell engager. Media Contact: Selena Blackmore [email protected] +41 (0) 76 378 59 30 SOURCE Ymmunobio WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Chugai has already overseen the approval of Roche’s Polivy in Japan for lymphoma treatment. Image credit: Shutterstock / Piotr Swat. Chugai Pharmaceutical and Araris Biotech have entered an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-focused research collaboration and option-to-license agreement worth up to $780m. Under the deal, Swiss oncology biotech Araris will use its ADC platform to generate ADCs using Chugai-provided antibodies against undisclosed targets supplied by Chugai. Japan-headquartered Chugai will oversee the funding of the research and will oversee development, manufacturing and global commercialisation duties if it decides to license a candidate. Araris is lined for up to $780m in milestone payments, as well as royalties on products that reach the market. ADCs have become a promising therapeutic modality in oncology and are one of the fastest-growing areas in cancer drug research. Chugai already has experience in ADCs, overseeing approvals of lymphoma treatment Polivy in Japan, a drug developed by its majority shareholder Roche. However, the pharma company currently does not list ADCs in development according to its drug pipeline . Araris, a spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich, has developed linker technology that allows attachment of payloads to ‘off-the-shelf’ antibodies in a single step. The key differentiator of the biotech’s platform is it allows the conjugation of two or three cytotoxic payloads simultaneously. Araris claims its peptide linker technology overcomes limitations in current ADC technologies such as heterogeneity, aggregation in blood, and high costs. Araris CEO Dr Dragan Grabulovski told Pharmaceutical Technology : “A problem of current ADCs is that they carry and administer just one cytotoxic class, and this results in resistance and limited efficacy. Our technology allows these therapies to conjugate two or three or multi-warheads simultaneously. We call these multi-warhead ADCs and they mimic conventional chemotherapy.” Araris’ latest deal follows a transaction in 2023, which saw it enter an ADC collaboration agreement with Japan-based Taiho Pharmaceutical. According to Grabulovski, work with further pharma companies is on the cards: “We are continuing to talk to interested pharma…the goal is to enter into a few selected high-value partnerships.” Along with generating ADCs for partnered companies, Araris is also developing two internal programmes. One is against nectin-four, a target which already has an ADC at market courtesy of Pfizer’s Padcev (enfortumab vedotin), though Grabulovski says Araris’ candidate has three different payloads as a differentiating factor. The second programme is targeting NaPi2b, for which there is no approved ADC on the market. The ADC space has seen many billion-dollar deals as pharma companies look to shore up their pipeline with the emerging modality. Pfizer – who is also researching multi-payload ADCs, acquired Seagen for $43bn in December 2023 while MSD and AbbVie have also completed $10.8bn and $10.1bn deals in recent years.

Peptide drugs, such as the metabolic medicines Mounjaro and Zepbound from Eli Lilly, must be administered as injections. But the biotech industry has been pursuing ways to make peptides into pills, and the oral peptide research of startup Orbis Medicines now has Lilly as a financial backer. Lilly is one of the investors in Orbis’s €90 million (about $93.4 million) Series A round announced Monday. The preclinical startup has not yet disclosed specific diseases for its drug research. But the Copenhagen-based company says it is focusing on targets that are already validated by blockbuster biologic drugs administered by injection. Peptides are chains of amino acids. One reason peptides aren’t well suited for oral delivery is that they don’t hold up well in the gut’s digestive environment. Macrocycles, peptides formed into a circular shape, can be made into drugs formulated for oral dosing. Sponsored Post The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches. By Eve McDavid - CEO of Mission-Driven Tech Macrocyclic drugs are already available. One of the best-known examples is cyclosporine, a immunosuppressive agent used to prevent rejection following an organ transplant. The macrocyclic drug candidates of Bicycle Therapeutics resemble two wheels, a more stable shape it says facilitates the ability to bind to targets and address targets that can’t be drugged by small molecules. Christian Heinis, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a scientific co-founder of both Bicycle and Orbis. Morten Graugaard Døssing, who was executive chairman of Orbis’s board of directors, told MedCity News last year that Bicycles’ drugs are still relatively large in size, which poses challenges for oral dosing. Orbis’s macrocycles, which is calls nCycles, can be formulated for oral dosing and offer the ability to address targets inside and outside of a cell. “They are smaller, cell permeable, and we can make them at scale,” Graugaard Døssing said of nCycles. “We see us as being very different from other companies in this space.” Orbis’s nCycles come from nGen, a technology platform that the company says can synthesize and analyze up to 100,000 distinct synthetic macrocycles in weeks, work that would take months or even years with conventional drug discovery methods. The startup was founded in 2021 by Novo Holdings, based on Heinis’s research. The new financing for Orbis comes nearly a year after the young company emerged from stealth, revealing €26 million (about $28 million) in seed funding. The latest round of financing was led by New Enterprise Associates. Besides Lilly, other new investors in Oribis include Cormorant, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. Founding investors Novo Holdings and Forbion also participated in the financing. presented by Health IT Transforming Patient Care: The Role of AI-Powered Assistants The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes. By IT Medical Along with the financing, Orbis announced the appointment of Graugaard Døssing as its new CEO. He had served as executive chair of Orbis’s board for the past three years.