OncoQuest Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, has entered into an antibody manufacturing development programme with Cytovance Biologics (Oklahoma City, OK, USA) for its oregovomab antibody product.
Supported by recent positive interim clinical results from its phase IIb clinical study in ovarian cancer patients, OncoQuest has engaged Cytovance to establish a reliable and stable supply of its oregovomab antibody drug product to support anticipated registration clinical studies and future commercial needs. Oregovomab is currently being tested with standard chemotherapy combination in the front line setting of ovarian cancer treatment. An additional phase II clinical trial using oregovomab in combination with a TLR3 agonist, Hiltonol, in the recurrent ovarian cancer population, is being initiated in the US.
OncoQuest has also appointed Veristat (Southborough, MA, USA), a full service clinical research organization (CRO) as the clinical and data monitor for the upcoming clinical trial in the recurrent ovarian cancer setting. To oversee all of OncoQuest's expanding clinical trial programs, OncoQuest is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Dr. Sean Du, as senior director of clinical operations. Sean has an MD, and an M.Sc in clinical research and experimental medicine from McGill University. Sean was recently employed as an Associate Medical Director (drug development) with Beigene BioPharma Co., Ltd for their oncology clinical trials.
"We are pushing ahead with the clinical development of oregovomab for the treatment of ovarian cancer" said Thomas Woo, vice president of product development for OncoQuest. "We will work closely with Cytovance and Veristat to ensure a reliable supply of antibody to support our drug development and continual progress in our clinical programme."
Oregovomab is OncoQuest's high affinity monoclonal antibody (Mab B43.13) that binds the tumor associated antigen CA125 (also designated MUC16) and initiates a cascade of immune responses against this glycoprotein. CA125 is expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer on the tumor surface but it is also shed into the circulation. OncoQuest has shown that carboplatin paclitaxel based chemotherapy used in front line treatment in precisely scheduled combination with oregovomab can improve outcomes relative to chemotherapy alone and is currently exploring the role of select immune adjuvants and checkpoint inhibition to assess oregovomab's application in advanced disease settings. The company plans to initiate phase 3 development of this product in an optimal combination with commercial grade antibody product when the current combinatorial phase 2 programme is completed.
Cytovance Biologics is a biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing company specializing in the production of therapeutic proteins and antibodies from both mammalian cell culture and microbial fermentation.
Veristat is a consultative clinical research organization (CRO) that is committed to partnering with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device firms in order to advance their therapies through the clinical development and regulatory submission process.