Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT), a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology and ADC-based therapies, today announced that it has received another milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) for the progress of a second oncology drug candidate (BI 765049), discovered during the first phase of the partnership, into the clinic. In addition to OBT’s clinical asset, OBT076, this BI drug candidate is one of OBT’s several existing immuno-oncology programs that have been enabled through OGAP®.
In this Phase 1 clinical trial, BI 765049, will be administered to patients with advanced solid tumours including colorectal cancer, gastric carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
“The advancement of the second oncology drug candidate, developed under our collaboration with BI, into the clinic is a major validation of our proprietary OGAP® drug discovery platform”, said OBT’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Christian Rohlff. “Selecting the right target is fundamental for the successful development of a first-in-class antibody drug product. OBT’s platforms are designed to discover and engineer antibody constructs to novel therapeutic targets – these include bi-specific, Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR-T), Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) and Antibody-Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) therapeutics – to best address difficult-to-treat cancers. We believe that the advancement of the first two BI compounds, directed to an oncology target identified by us, into the clinic, further validates our approach”.
“We look forward to applying our experience to the continued advancement of our partnered and inhouse programs, including our most advanced asset, OBT076, a CD205 targeting antibody, which is successfully progressing through dose escalation in the U.S. for patients with high risk breast cancer and other solid tumors”, commented Abderrahim (Rahim) Fandi, M.D., Ph. D, Chief Medical Officer of OBT. “Our U.S. clinical program is truly innovative because OBT076 not only acts to destroy tumor cells directly but can also potentially reverse immune tolerance. By targeting chemotherapy failure, in CD205 positive solid tumour patients, our strategy represents a new treatment approach for these patients with limited existing treatment options and rapid disease progression.”