Nascent Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB: NBIO) recently announced a research collaboration agreement with Manhattan BioSolutions, Inc. The collaboration aims to investigate antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) utilizing Nascent’s lead clinical candidate, pritumumab (PTB), as the tumor-targeting antibody element.

Pritumumab (PTB) is a natural human antibody that targets the extracellular form of vimentin, a protein linked to cancer growth and metastasis. It is particularly overexpressed in brain and pancreatic cancers, as well as other solid tumors. PTB functions as a targeted immunotherapy by binding to vimentin in tumors and stimulating the immune system to eliminate cancer cells. Nascent has received FDA clearance to begin Phase II clinical trials for brain cancer treatment after demonstrating a promising safety profile and preliminary efficacy in Phase I studies on glioblastoma patients.

In preclinical experiments, PTB has shown the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially transport conjugated drugs into brain tissues. Nascent holds a patent covering this specialized delivery mechanism. Under the collaboration agreement, Manhattan Bio will perform PTB conjugations with industry-standard linker-payloads and evaluate the resulting ADCs in in vitro cell assays. Promising candidates will be prioritized for further development to treat vimentin-positive tumors and potentially other advanced or metastatic cancers.

Nascent, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating, "We are thrilled to unlock the full disruptive potential of pritumumab against cancer by collaborating with Manhattan Bio’s world-leading scientists. This collaboration serves as an exciting first step in uncovering the possibilities of better targeted cancer therapies."

Manhattan Bio, also commented, "Pritumumab offers unexplored potential as an ADC vector, and we are excited to test that promise leveraging our expertise in ADC discovery and development. This could pave the way for applying our newest linker-payload innovations to pritumumab in the future."

 

Source: nascentbiotech.com

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