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Biotech / Medical : HuMAB companies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (422)	10/2/2002 11:28:18 AM
From: scaram(o)uche	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1022

>> Interesting snippet from today's CRGN PR << 1. If you inject human proteins into a normal mouse, you often get antibodies, just as you do when you stick mouse proteins into man. I'm not saying that it can't be done. I'm just siding with CAT et al. If I were out there, today and targeting a human protein, I'd be working with every model available. 2. Serology..... immunoglobulins have made it into clinical trials that had nothing to do with the disease that they were targeting. IMO, at least two made it through to rather large, pivotal-like trials. Take initial claims with skepticism. Publications would roll out of academic labs, and they're not going to have the sort of brute strength capacities that ABGX/CRGN can press into action. Anti-bacterial, anti-toxin, anti-viral, etc.? They shouldn't require as much brute force, IMO. So maybe the lack of publications isn't truly something to worry about. Perhaps it just reflects a barrier to effective entry which can be used to judge ABGX versus MEDX. I'm too far out of the loop to comment further. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone this far.

To: nigel bates who wrote (422)	10/3/2002 9:44:53 PM
From: Miljenko Zuanic	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1022

<I don't have an answer to the question - not that it doesn't worry me... I do have a lot more CAT than ABGX. As regards getting MABs into the clinic, is it possible that the current environment is making companies overcautious about committing to trials ?>> IMW, two main factors for fewer(than expected) MAb entering clinical trials are: 1. Target validation issue, mostly they are interacting with new target without prove that targets are relevant, and 2. Manufacturing issue, shortage of the capacity and experienced teams that can produce sufficient quantity. Rick is correct RE: "if you're trying to block the FUNCTION of a protein..... the portions of molecules that are involved in function are (generalizing) those that are most highly conserved." However, sometimes binding to non-functional epitope (which are less conserved from mice to humans) disrupt ligand-receptor 3D-contact area. Sufficiently to block protein-protein signals. I think that ABX-EGF explored this approach. So, I will continue to believe that HuMAb based drugs will continue to be viable approach, specially when protein-protein interaction are too complex to be targeted with small molecules. Miljenko