Almac Discovery to Present Updates on Key Oncology Programmes at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II

BELFAST, Northern Ireland and EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Almac Discovery has announced that it will present significant new data on their lead Oncology programmes – the next generation protein drug conjugate programme targeting ROR1 and its lead small molecule inhibitor programme targeting USP7 in poster sessions at this year's American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II, which is being held June 22-24, 2020. Both programmes are advancing towards the nomination of candidate drugs, and the new data highlight significant progress that has been made in the last year towards this goal.

"We have developed ADP-c165, a potent and selective ROR1-targeting protein drug conjugate that exploits the properties of small VNAR protein domains. This agent shows excellent efficacy in patient-derived xenograft models with complete and durable regressions observed. We are excited to share this data at the 2020 AACR Virtual Annual Meeting and the potential of this novel PDC for the treatment of solid tumour indications, particularly triple-negative breast cancer," commented Graham Cotton, Head of Protein Therapeutics, Almac Discovery.

Xavier Jacq, VP Biology at Almac Discovery, said, "Using our potent and highly selective USP7 inhibitors, we have uncovered a completely novel mode of action for USP7 in modulating and reprograming the tumour microenvironment by directly impacting VEGF secretion from fibroblasts. In addition to the established modulation of the p53/MDM2 pathway in cancer cells, this important finding supports new opportunities for combining USP7 inhibitors with immune modulators. We are delighted to share our recent discovery differentiating USP7 inhibition from MDM2 antagonists at the upcoming AACR Virtual Annual Meeting."

Details are as follows:

Title: Discovery of a novel function for USP7 inhibitors: Reprogramming the tumour microenvironment
Authors: Anamarija Jurisic, Julien Daubriac, Mark Wappett, Ian T. Lobb, Aaron Cranston, Stephanie Burton, Peggy Sung, Gerald Gavory, Colin R. O'Dowd, Tim Harrison, Xavier Jacq. Almac Discovery, Belfast, UK
Abstract Number: 8303
Session: Drug Targets in the Microenvironment
Poster Number: #6057
Type: E-poster
Date & Time: 22 June (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT)

Title: Exploiting the properties of VNAR domains for the development of novel efficacious protein drug conjugates targeting the oncofetal protein ROR1
Authors: Graham Cotton, Jennifer Thom, Paul Trumper, Andrei Kamenski, Stacey Bell, Mark Wappett, Caroline Barelle, Marina Kovaleva, Alicia Campion, Elisa Persiani, Andrew Porter, Estelle McLean, Aidan McCann, Chiara Saladino, Aaron Cranston, Tim Harrison. Almac Discovery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Elasmogen Ltd, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, Almac Discovery, Belfast, UK
Abstract Number:2785
Session: Antibody Technologies
Poster Number: 538
Type: E-poster
Date & Time: 22 June (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT)

Find out more here.

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SOURCE Almac Group