TOKYO and HOUSTON, April 3,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503)
and The University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center today announced the signing of an option agreement to
research and develop a new treatment for patients with acute
myeloid leukemia (AML).
The collaboration grants Astellas an option to firstly negotiate
an exclusive, worldwide license at the end of Phase Ib, with both
Phase Ia and Phase Ib studies to be conducted by MD Anderson. The
agreement also includes up to $26
million as an option premium and research and development
funding.
The collaboration will focus on h8F4 technology, a humanized
monoclonal antibody invented by Jeffrey
Molldrem, M.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and
Cellular Therapy at MD Anderson. The antibody h8F4 targets an
HLA-restricted peptide called PR1/HLA-A2, which is expressed in
cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Molldrem will lead these
research efforts with Carlo
Toniatti, M.D., Ph.D., executive director of MD Anderson's
Oncology Research for Biologics and Immunotherapy Translation
(ORBIT) platform.
"Current treatments for aggressive leukemias are often toxic,"
said Molldrem. "We desired to develop a safer, yet more potent,
therapy for these aggressive cancer types that currently have poor
survival outcomes. Unfortunately, advancing novel discoveries from
the laboratory to drug development has been historically
challenging. We hope that this important collaboration will allow
us to deliver much-needed antibody-based treatment to the patient's
bedside more quickly."
"h8F4 has a radically novel anti-tumor activity and this
collaboration provides MD Anderson and Astellas with a great
opportunity to potentially deliver a first-in-class antibody drug
to patients with AML," commented Yoshihiko
Hatanaka, president and CEO of Astellas. "Astellas continues
to focus on developing novel therapies in areas of unmet medical
need through in-house developments and external
collaborations."
While monoclonal antibodies are very common in oncology,
generating antibodies against HLA-restricted peptides has proven
difficult. To develop viable antibody drugs, MD Anderson created
ORBIT for its Moon Shots Program to centralize this type of
research. The program is an ambitious initiative to accelerate the
conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances and
significantly reduce cancer deaths.
"This is an outstanding addition to MD Anderson's Moon Shots
Program to deliver accelerated solutions for cancer treatment,"
said Ronald DePinho, M.D., president
of MD Anderson. "These are exciting times for cancer drug
development and I'm proud that eminent scientists like Drs.
Molldrem and Toniatti are leading the way. While it's true that
myeloid cancer has not responded well to standard therapies, this
novel solution looks promising."
About Astellas Pharma Inc.
Astellas Pharma Inc.,
located in Tokyo, Japan, is a
pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people
around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable
pharmaceuticals. Astellas has approximately 17,000 employees
worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global
category leader in Urology, Immunology (including Transplantation)
and Infectious diseases, Oncology, Neuroscience and Diabetes
Mellitus (DM) Complications and Kidney diseases. For more
information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit the company
website at www.astellas.com/en.
About MD Anderson
The University
of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most
respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research,
education and prevention. MD Anderson is one of only 41
comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer
Institute (NCI). For the past 25 years, MD Anderson has ranked
as one of the nation's top two cancer centers in U.S. News &
World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" survey. MD Anderson
receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National
Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
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SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.