Biothera Joins Cancer Research UK Combinations Alliance
By Cyndi Root
Biothera, a U.S. company focused on cancer therapies, has joined the Combinations Alliance, a joint effort between the Cancer Research UK's Centre for Drug Development and the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Network. The company announced the move in a press release, stating that other pharmaceutical companies in the network include AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and MedImmune. Dan Conners, President of Biothera's Pharmaceutical Group, said, "The UK's Combinations Alliance brings together all the elements required for successful collaborations between industrial and academic partners aiming to identify novel approaches for the treatment of cancer.”
Combinations Alliance
Members of the Combinations Alliance can access experts, data, and oncology centers overseen by Cancer Research UK, an independent cancer research charity. The Alliance seeks to develop novel treatments for people with cancer. The Memorandum of Understanding between Biothera and Cancer Research UK includes Biothera's immune modulator, Imprime PGG. The Alliance is accepting proposals from investigators and pharmaceutical companies to evaluate Imprime PGG with other therapeutics in clinical studies.
Dr. Hazel Jones, Cancer Research UK’s head of combination therapies also commented on the addition of Biothera. She said, “This brings the total number of partners to six. Imprime PGG broadens our portfolio and provides an exciting new opportunity for treatment combinations that modify the immune response to cancer.”
Imprime PGG
Biothera has thoroughly characterized Imprime PGG and its mechanism of action by collaborating with key academic immunologists and they have published their results in major journals such as Nature, Blood, and the Journal of Immunology. The agent, like other immunotherapies, harnesses the power of the immune system to kill cancer cells. Unlike other immunotherapies that focus on the adaptive arm of the immune system (35 percent of the immune system), Imprime PGG targets innate immune system cells (65 percent of immune cells). Targeting these cells provides superiority in the number of immune cells that engage with cancer cells.
When administered in conjunction with monoclonal antibodies, Imprime PGG binds to neutrophils and monocytes via Complement Receptor 3, enabling redirection and killing of antibody-targeted cancer cells. Additionally, the agent is cell-specific and not cancer-specific, therefore showing promise in multiple types of cancer, such as non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.