Fusion Antibodies Ltd, an antibody drug and cell line development CRO focused on the treatment of serious disease, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Sydney, Australia) to further develop Fusion’s Cathepsin S specific antibody for the treatment of a range of cancers.
Cathepsin S (CatS), is an enzyme which is expressed in a range of cancers including colorectal, breast, prostate and lung with raised levels of Cathepsin S observed in advanced cancers and patient tissue with secondary tumours. Since the majority of all cancer deaths occur at this late stage, Cathepsin S targeted therapy has the potential of becoming a new method for the treatment of such diseases.
The antibody drug, Fsn0503, has been developed by Fusion Antibodies for cancer therapy with investment from our shareholders and local investors QUBIS, Clarendon Fund Managers, Crescent Capital and also investment and R&D grant support from Invest NI, with part funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
Under the licensing agreement, Clarity plans to further develop the drug and progress through clinical trials by leveraging Clarity’s cutting edge expertise in the field of biopharmaceutical imaging. This increases the chance of success for the therapy by utilising a radiopharmaceutical based companion diagnostic / therapy approach.
Dr Paul Kerr, Managing Director of Fusion Antibodies, said: “We are delighted to welcome Clarity Pharmaceuticals as a partner to add their technology to further the development of the Cathepsin S antibody. This is the result of all the hard work by our team and the support and financial investment from all our investors and local granting bodies and guidance plus advice from Professor Chris Scott of Queens University and represents a major endorsement of Fusion’s technical capability.”
Dr Matthew Harris, Managing Director of Clarity Pharmaceuticals, said: “We believe that the Cathepsin S antibody, combined with Clarity’s proprietary technology, offers a unique opportunity to develop next generation personalised oncology drugs with greater efficacy. We look forward to applying Clarity’s expertise in the field of radiopharmaceutical imaging and therapy to rapidly progress the asset through clinical trials.”
About Fusion Antibodies
Fusion Antibodies is a CRO that offers services covering all stages of preclinical therapeutic and diagnostic Antibody development from target discovery to delivery of lead optimized Humanized commercial drug candidates ready for clinical investigation.
Fusion Antibodies next generation CDRx humanization antibody technology platform assist companies interested in developing high quality antibody leads against the next generation of therapeutic targets from murine and lapine antibodies.
About Clarity
Clarity Pharmaceuticals is a personalised medicine company focused on the treatment of serious disease. The Company is a leader in innovative radiopharmaceutical technology, developing targeted therapies and assisting in the drug development pipeline of novel therapies for companies globally.