A monoclonal antibody called OSE-703 will be OSE Immunotherapeutics’ main focus in a research program that recently received funding from the French government.
Of a total cost of $2.8 million, the Fonds Unique Interministériel (FUI) program will provide $1.4 million to fund OSE’s research project, titled “HybridADCC,” to be conducted in collaboration with Clean Cells and the MicroPICell Federative Research Structure François Bonamy.
Of the total funding received, $469,000 will be used to identify new monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. OSE will also develop innovative tests to explore and measure the toxicity of monoclonal antibodies.
HybridADCC will develop a new standardized test to measure the ability of monoclonal antibodies to destroy tumor cells through a mechanism of toxicity called antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). This mechanism involves effector cells of the immune system that recognize cells bound to the therapeutic antibody, which eliminates them.
Through this collaborative effort, OSE will have access to a platform to identify, develop, and validate one of its product candidates, OSE-703, currently being explored in lung cancer by Prasad Adusumilli’s team at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
OSE-703 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the surface domain of the IL-7 receptor (IL-7R), killing cells that are positive for the receptor. The candidate will also be evaluated in vitro in other cancers of interest under this new initiative.
“As a result of this innovative program, OSE could gain new monoclonal antibodies on targets of therapeutic interest, and generate additional product candidates for clinical development in immuno-oncology, used in monotherapy or combined with a checkpoint inhibitor,” Bernard Vanhove, chief operating officer at OSE, said in a press release.
Among other candidates, OSE is also planning the clinical development program for OSE-172, a new generation checkpoint inhibitor that targets myeloid cells via the SIRP-alpha receptor.
OSE-172 is a monoclonal antibody that blocks the generation of pro-tumor suppressor cells and restores their anti-tumoral function. OSE-172 may be combined with other immunotherapies, in particular products triggering a stimulation of the immune system, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Earlier this year, OSE and Selexis announced the signing of two commercial license agreements (CLAs) to advance the clinical development of two cancer immunotherapy programs, OSE-172 and OSE-703.
