SAN DIEGO & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2003-- Corvas (NASDAQ: CVAS - News) and Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX - News) today announced positive initial findings from a research collaboration they established to discover, develop and commercialize novel cancer therapeutics focused on serine protease inhibitors. Utilizing Dyax's proprietary phage display technology, the companies have successfully identified fully human, neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against Endotheliase I and II, two proprietary serine protease targets discovered at Corvas. Endotheliases are a subfamily of serine proteases that are expressed by endothelial cells and may be involved in angiogenesis, a process required for the growth and progression of certain solid tumors. These antibodies are being advanced into preclinical studies to determine their potential as anti-tumor agents as part of the co-development agreement between the two companies.
Under the collaboration agreement, Dyax utilized its phage display technology and proprietary antibody libraries to generate fully human monoclonal antibodies against Endotheliase I and II. Among these candidates, Corvas identified several highly potent and selective inhibitors of the activity of both serine protease targets. Dr. Edwin Madison, Corvas Vice President of Biological Research, will present these data today during the "Vascular Biology" session of the American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Annual Meeting, being held in San Diego.
"Several anti-endotheliase antibodies we have identified in this collaboration with Dyax are extremely potent, with inhibitory constants in the low picomolar range. Consequently, even low doses of these agents may generate a powerful anti-tumor response," said Dr. Madison. "By targeting endothelial cells which, unlike cancer cells, are genetically stable, we may create a therapeutic strategy that can defeat mechanisms normally used by tumors to develop resistance to treatment. Additional preclinical development of these antibodies will examine the feasibility and efficacy of this potentially exciting new strategy in relevent animal models of solid tumor growth."
"The specificity and affinity achieved for some of these antibodies - and notably with no affinity maturation - is remarkable, and I believe speaks to the quality and power of Dyax's antibody libraries," commented Jack Morgan, Dyax Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Business Operations. "Dyax has put great effort into building state-of-the-art libraries and licensing key third party antibody phage display patents. We believe that this collaboration with Corvas is representative of how this technology can advance Dyax's pipeline as well as those of our partners and customers," concluded Mr. Morgan.
Serine proteases, the largest human protease gene family, have been implicated in the growth and progression of solid tumors, including breast and prostate cancer. Endotheliase I and II are members of a distinct family of transmembrane serine proteases that are attracting increasing interest for their emerging roles in cancer. Unlike most proteases, which are either secreted from or retained within the cell, transmembrane serine proteases are located on the cell surface. This confined location may offer a unique opportunity to target cancer treatments directly to diseased tumor cells and thereby avoid damage to healthy cells and tissues, a serious problem associated with many current therapies, including radiation and chemotherapy.
The modulation of serine protease activity associated with solid tumors is the foundation of Corvas' discovery platform to develop new therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. This effort includes the discovery and validation of novel serine protease targets that may play a role in angiogenesis or tumor growth and progression, as well as the validation of known proteases that have not been previously implicated in these processes. Corvas' cancer research programs are focused on the development of new biotherapies, including monoclonal antibodies and synthetic pro-drugs, that target serine proteases associated with the growth and spread of malignant tumors. Corvas has identified approximately 70 proteases that may be associated with cancer and has filed patents on several full-length gene sequences and methods for high throughput screening of the respective proteases. ... |
