BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
XtalPi Inc. | December 29, 2022
One of the pioneering pharmaceutical technology companies - XtalPi, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, has recently announced a strategic collaboration with Singapore's national platform for drug discovery and development, the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), which is hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research of Singapore (A*STAR). The goal of this partnership is to find novel treatment candidates for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
“According to Research and Markets, the size of the global market for NSCLC treatments will surpass USD 20 billion by 2027”
Lung cancer is the second-most prevalent cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. NSCLC accounts for more than 80% of all lung cancer occurrences, while its incidence continues to rise worldwide. Despite growing interest and investment in drug research, there is a substantial unmet demand for effective targeted therapeutic alternatives for NSCLC patients to improve outcomes.
In this partnership, EDDC and XtalPi will work together to find promising candidates against an NSCLC target chosen by EDDC. XtalPi will use its AI technology, automation platform, and expert domain knowledge. It will also use quantum physics and an AI-driven platform to create and test millions of molecules for the De-novo drug design. Iterations will be used in its robotics-powered synthesis and testing lab to confirm and improve the predicted top-performing molecules with desirable drug properties. EDDC will give helpful information and data about the new NSCLC target, which will speed up the process of finding new drugs and carry the program forward.
XtalPi said in a statement that it is delighted to work with EDDC. It intends to help people all over the world by using AI and automation to improve the speed, size, variety, and success rate of drug research and development. In line with this, EDDC stated that it is excited to collaborate with XtalPi to translate science and research into practical and targeted cancer therapies. Furthermore, EDDC is confident that this collaboration will accelerate the development of much-needed targeted therapies for NSCLC patients due to XtalPi's experience in AI and automation technologies.
About XtalPi
XtalPi is a quantum physics-based, AI-powered drug R&D firm aiming to improve the speed, scale, novelty, and success rate of drug discovery. To meet the needs of its clients and partners, the company has offices in China and the United States. Frost & Sullivan cites the company as one of the world's first AI-powered drug R&D companies, with an iterative feedback loop between dry and wet lab capabilities.
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RESEARCH, PHARMA TECH
Ambrx | February 21, 2023
Ambrx Biopharma Inc., recently released positive preliminary results from its current Phase 1 trial, APEX-01 (NCT04662580), which is examining ARX517, Ambrx's patented anti-PSMA ADC, in patients with prostate cancer.
Patients with advanced prostate cancer who have progressed on at least two prior FDA-approved treatments are enrolled in the Phase 1, first-in-human, open label dose escalation and dose expansion experiment known as APEX-01. In the US, APEX-01 is the only clinical trial that uses an ADC to treat PSMA. The trials revealed
• No grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (AEs) or drug-related serious adverse events (SAEs) have been reported in the 22 individuals who were evaluable for safety. ARX517 was well-tolerated otherwise with grade 1 or 2 treatment-related adverse events were observed. It is yet to reach the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) • Starting with the second to lowest dose of 0.64 mg/kg, PSA reductions of > 30% have been seen in Cohorts 2-5 • 3 (100%) patients in Cohort 6 (2.0 mg/kg dosage) had a PSA level reduction of at least 50%. PSA levels were reduced by more than 90% in 2 out of 3 patients. At the initial on-treatment scan, soft tissue measurable disease was found in 1 of the 3 patients, and showed a partial RECIST v1.1 response • In Cohort 7, three patients received doses with no DLTs
Daniel J. O’Connor, CEO of Ambrx, said, “While recent advances have considerably reduced the number of men who die from prostate cancer, it remains the second-most common form of death from cancer in the United States. Approximately 1 man in 41 will die of prostate cancer. Thus, there remains an urgent need for better treatments, in particular for men with advanced prostate cancer.” He further added, “We are very pleased to see a significant reduction of greater than 50% in PSA levels in the first three patients at 2.0 mg/kg, two of which went on to see a greater than 90% PSA level reduction, without any serious drug-related adverse events.”
(Source – Business Wire)
About Ambrx
Ambrx Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. It develops precision biologics using an extended genetic code. Synthetic amino acids are incorporated into proteins using Ambrx technology, which is carried out entirely within a living cell. Precision Biologics, a novel therapeutic class with significant potential uses these synthesized amino acids.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Avacta | January 23, 2023
Avacta Group plc, a leading life sciences company focused on developing innovative, targeted oncology medicines and powerful diagnostics, recently announced that AVA6000 has maintained a very favorable safety profile in the fourth dose cohort of the ALS-6000-101 dose escalation phase 1 clinical trial. Furthermore, analysis of tumor samples acquired from six patients across multiple cohorts shows that doxorubicin is being released within the tumor tissue, supporting the pre|CISIONTM technology's tumor-targeting capability.
Patients in cohort 4 continue to tolerate AVA6000 well, with a significant decrease in the occurrence and severity of the commonly associated toxicities with the administration of traditional doxorubicin treatment. Nausea, vomiting, Alopecia, mucositis, myelosuppression, and cardiotoxicity are all among the typical toxicities. Notably, the typical drug-related cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin was not found even at the highest dosage levels in group 4, equivalent to more than double the standard dose of doxorubicin.
In order to confirm the release of the active chemotherapy, doxorubicin, in tumor tissue, several tumor biopsies acquired from patients in different cohorts have been analyzed. This analysis demonstrates that AVA6000 targets the release of doxorubicin to tumor tissue at therapeutic levels that are significantly higher than those detected in the bloodstream at the same time point.
To date, AVA6000 has been administered to 19 patients with advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors who were enrolled across four groups. Based on the very favorable safety profile of AVA6000 in the study thus far, the Safety Data Monitoring Committee (SDMC) has recommended that the study be extended to higher dose cohorts in order to identify a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) required to inform dosing levels for the phase 1b and future studies. The Company anticipates completing these additional cohorts within the first half of 2023.
About Avacta
Avacta is a healthcare group that promotes human health and well-being by creating new cancer treatments and powerful in vitro diagnostics. Its mission is to create the future of medicine by producing safe and effective medications as well as high-performance diagnostics using its unique Affimer® and pre|CISIONᵀᴹ platforms. By merging these two platforms, the Company is constructing a pipeline of innovative cancer therapeutics to fulfil its goal of developing successful treatments for all cancer patients, including those who do not react to current immunotherapies.
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