OGS Building a Sustainable Pipeline: New Programmes and New Clinical Trials
OXFORD, UK, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (LSE: OGS, Nasdaq: OGSI) will present progress on its drug discovery and development pipeline and describe its novel R&D strategy. The Company will announce a number of advances in its pipeline at an R&D update, including: the expansion of OGT 918 trials into potential new indications; commencement of a development programme based on a novel molecule, OGT 923, for lysosomal storage diseases; pre-clinical efficacy data on OGT 2492, the lead candidate in a wholly-owned small molecule cancer programme; and progress in the OGS-Medarex collaboration.
Dr Raj Parekh, OGS' Chief Scientific Officer said: ``Over the last 18 months, OGS has implemented an innovative process for the rapid selection of druggable protein targets and the discovery of drug leads. This process, built on the quality and number of targets emerging from our proteomics platform and close access to leading drug discovery technologies from Medarex and NeoGenesis, is generating a large number of drug programmes. These will fuel our pipeline growth this year and beyond in our current focus areas of glycolipid storage diseases, cancer and fungal infection using small molecules and therapeutic antibody approaches.''
Drug Candidates:
Cancer:
* Data will be presented on OGT 2492, OGS' first small molecule inhibitor of heparanase I, an enzyme involved in the growth and spread of many cancers, including breast cancer. The compound, which is orally active, shows good selectivity, pharmacokinetic and efficacy profiles in pre-clinical studies.
* The first candidate emerging from the OGS-Medarex collaboration is a fully human antibody that binds to and neutralises the heparanase I enzyme. This antibody, which is in the Medarex T12 programme, is part of the comprehensive OGS-Medarex-Genmab cancer campaign announced earlier this year.
Lysosomal Storage Diseases:
* The Company's lead compound Vevesca (OGT 918) is under regulatory review in Europe and the United States for Type I Gaucher disease. Publication of the enzyme replacement switch/combination data is progressing and is currently under peer review. The Company will today announce that it is initiating new clinical studies to investigate the safety and efficacy of OGT 918 in Niemann-Pick Type C disease, Neuronopathic Gaucher disease and Late Onset GM2 Gangliosidosis.
* The Company will also announce a new programme based on OGT 923, a new chemical entity which has shown efficacy in pre-clinical models of Sandhoff and Niemann Pick Type C disease. OGT 923 is now in development at OGS with a target date of first dose to man (Phase I) in Q4 2002.
Dr Chris Moyses, OGS' Chief Medical Officer said: ``Evaluating potential new indications for OGT 918 and commencing a second development programme underscores our commitment to the therapeutic area. We continue to lead the evaluation of novel oral agents for substrate reduction therapy for patients with Gaucher disease and related glycolipid storage disorders.'' Lead Discovery:
To expand the drug candidate pipeline in 2003 and beyond, OGS will describe how its drug discovery strategy is being used successfully to build its pipeline. To date the Company has:
* selected 27 cancer targets involved in various disease mechanisms that have entered the NeoGenesis collaboration;
* identified breast and renal cancer antigens which are being investigated as monoclonal antibody targets as part of the Medarex/Genmab joint venture;
* identified multiple targets involved in the growth of several pathogenic fungi, which have entered the NeoGenesis collaboration;
* received high affinity ligands against targets from NeoGenesis, which are the basis of ongoing lead optimisation programmes.
Michael Kranda, OGS' Chief Executive Officer, said ``We have aggressive goals for building our pipeline, namely multiple first dose to man programmes a year. These objectives are realistic considering our innovative and productive discovery and development strategy and I believe will create substantial shareholder value.''
The R&D update will take place in London on the 7th of March. Please contact Mo Noonan at Financial Dynamics on +44 (0) 20 7242 8695 for details. A corresponding US session will be organised in New York on the 8th of March. Please contact Hemal Parikh at Feinstein Kean Healthcare on +1-617 761 6787 for details... |
