Tuesday, December 06, 2016
Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADRO), a biopharmaceutical company with three distinct immunotherapy technologies, announced today that an anti-CD27 antibody developed by Aduro Biotech Europe and derived from its proprietary B-select technology has been selected to be advanced into clinical development by Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada), through a subsidiary. CD27 has been recognized as having a critical role in activating a productive anti-cancer immune response and has demonstrated the potential to be combined with checkpoint inhibitors in pre-clinical studies.
"Pre-clinical studies have shown that an anti-CD27 agonist can induce a T cell-mediated anti-cancer immune response, and in combination with PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors complete tumor eradication can be achieved," said Hans van Eenennaam
, Ph.D., chief operational officer, Aduro Biotech Europe.
The CD27 antibody was licensed by MSD to advance as a part of their successful immunotherapy development program and was identified in close collaboration with Prof. Jannie Borst
, Ph.D., professor at the University of Amsterdam and division head at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, through Aduro's B-select monoclonal antibody technology. This technology includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad repertoire of targets that can modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system.
"In 2014, prior to the acquisition by Aduro Biotech, BioNovion entered into a worldwide license agreement with MSD that covers the product candidate's development and advancement through commercialization," said Andrea van Elsas
, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Aduro Biotech Europe. "Both companies recognized the significant potential of targeting CD27 as a new and distinct mechanism in cancer immunotherapy, especially in the context of PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, and were strongly committed to accelerate a quality candidate into the clinic."
Conference Call with Management
Aduro's management will host a conference call to review this announcement and provide a program update, including STELLAR, today at 5:30 a.m. PT/ 8:30 a.m. ET. To participate in the conference call, please dial (844) 309-0604 (domestic) or (574) 990-9932 (international) and refer to conference ID 31336163. Live audio of the conference call will be simultaneously webcast and will be available to members of the news media, investors and the general public at http://investors.aduro.com/.
Source:nasdaq.com
