Algeta ASA, a company focused on developing novel targeted therapies, and Ablynx, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of Nanobodies, has signed a research collaboration to evaluate a novel Targeted Thorium Conjugate (TTC) based on combining Algeta's proprietary thorium-227 alpha-pharmaceutical payload with nanobodies generated using Ablynx's proprietary technology platform.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Ablynx will provide access to novel nanobodies against a specific, undisclosed target and Algeta will provide access to chelation and conjugation technologies, as well as to its alpha-emitter thorium-227. Both companies will contribute resources towards the collaboration, which is expected to last for up to a year initially with the option for extension thereafter. No further terms have been disclosed.

Thomas Ramdahl, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Algeta, said, "The collaboration with Ablynx, the fifth TTC programme to be disclosed by Algeta, is designed to evaluate the potential of a Nanobody to act as the targeting molecule for the alpha-pharmaceutical payload, thorium-227. This payload has the potential to provide higher potency and more effective delivery over other therapeutic payloads, with the further advantage that there are no known cellular resistance mechanisms to the cell killing properties of alpha particles."

Andreas Menrad, chief scientific officer of Ablynx, said, "We are very pleased to be working with Algeta to discover and develop novel cancer therapeutics based on both companies' proprietary technologies. Our Nanobodies have the potential to selectively and efficiently deliver Algeta's thorium-227 to the site of the tumor. We are very excited about combining our unique and powerful technology with Algeta's leading payload expertise to search for breakthrough opportunities in oncology."

Algeta is a company focused on developing novel targeted therapies for patients with cancer based on its alpha-pharmaceutical platform.

Algeta is evaluating the potential utility of alpha-particle emitting elements in the treatment of cancer. Previous studies have indicated that such elements may have value in treating cancers by causing double-strand DNA breaks that trigger cell death, and have also shown that the effects of alpha-emission are highly localized as a result of the very short range of the alpha particle (2-10 cell diameters). Thorium-227 is one alpha-particle emitting element (radionuclide) that has been selected by Algeta for further investigation. By linking thorium-227 to cancer-targeting molecules such as monoclonal antibodies, Algeta believes it may be possible to develop a pipeline of targeted alpha-pharmaceuticals, termed Targeted Thorium Conjugates, or TTCs.

The TTC platform is at an early research phase in development. Algeta intends to evaluate TTCs in a broad range of cancer types to determine whether the TTC platform could offer advantages over naked (un-armed) antibodies or antibody-drug conjugate technologies that use cytotoxic drugs (rather than alpha-emitting elements) as payloads. Such advantages could include increased potency, a more localized tumoricidal effect and the potential to address drug resistance by virtue of the physical action of the alpha particles.