Ymmunobio Signs Transfer Ownership Agreement with Nagoya University for NPTXR Antibodies

Research indicates that NPTXR antibodies may have utility for treatment of gastro-intestinal cancers

RIEHEN, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ymmunobio AG, a preclinical stage biotech company specializing in the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients, has secured ownership to neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPTXR) antibodies, which have shown utility for developing therapeutics and for  novel diagnostic tools in the treatment of several gastro-intestinal cancers, including gastric cancer.¹ Ymmunobio signed the transfer ownership agreement in 2022 with Nagoya University for the license to NPTXR antibodies, which were invented by Professor Mitsuro Kanda, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya University, Japan.

Ymmunobio has begun developing the lead, fully humanized and first-in-class NPTXR antibody, YB-800, which has demonstrated anti-tumor activity in vivo and in vitro for solid tumors, including several gastro-intestinal and breast cancers.

"Ymmunobio's ownership of NPTXR represents a great leap forward for our company," said Ymmunobio Founder and CEO Katrin Rupalla. "Our lead antibody YB-800 targets directly various cancers overexpressing NPTXR and selectively kills cancer cells so that healthy tissue is not affected. This antibody is extending our innovative pipeline of first-in-class or novel antibodies. We're optimistic that our ongoing preclinical development with NPTXR will enable us to start IND-enabling studies by the end of this year."

As indicated in Kanda's study¹, there is a pressing need to identify candidate therapeutic targets for the development of agents to control cancer metastasis through novel mechanisms. NPTXR plays an essential role in controlling the malignant behavior of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. NPTXR-targeting therapeutic antibodies (Abs) may have utility as novel diagnostic tools and/or treatment modalities for gastric cancer.¹

The potential impact of NPTXR in developing antibodies to treat solid tumors is especially significant considering that 35% of colon cancer patients have a high expression of NPTXR, while 50% of gastric cancer patients have a high expression of NPTXR.

To learn more, visit Ymmunobio's website.

ABOUT GI CANCERS 
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the world and is estimated to make up 10% of all cancers.² Gastric cancer (stomach cancer) was the fifth most common malignant tumor in the world in 2020 and the fourth leading cause of cancer death globally with approximately 800,000 deaths.³

ABOUT YMMUNOBIO

Ymmunobio AG is a preclinical stage oncology biotech company focused on the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients through new classes of antibodies. Those treatments present a large market potential and broad applicability in solid tumors. Ymmunobio is making extensive progress in developing first in class or novel class of antibodies that have the potential to overcome resistance of cancer patients to current available therapies. Learn more on Ymmunobio's website and follow on LinkedIn.

REFERENCES

¹ Kanda, Mitsuro, et al. Therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting of neuronal pentraxin receptor to control metastasis in gastric cancer. Molecular Cancer. Aug 2020. Available at: https://molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12943-020-01251-0.  Accessed January 2023.

² Worldwide Cancer Data. World Cancer Fund International. Available at: https://www.wcrf.org/cancer-trends/worldwide-cancer-data/ Accessed January 2023.

³ Ilic, Milena and Ilic, Irena. Epidemiology of stomach cancer. World J Gastroenterology.  National Library of Medicine. Mar 2022. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8968487/. Accessed January 2023.

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SOURCE Ymmunobio