Oncomatryx has announced the beginning of a new phase in the development of its tumour microenvironment – targeted antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

Phase 1 clinical trials in patients suffering metastatic solid tumours will be launched in Europe and USA in the second quarter of 2022.

To fund the clinical trials, Oncomatryx has raised 15m euros. The capital increase was funded by current shareholders, and by national and international family offices.

These funds, along with Oncomatryx’s recurring revenues from its licensing agreements with international biopharmaceutical companies, will be used for the clinical development of additional ADCs of Oncomatryx’s tumour-microenvironment pipeline. This brings the total investment for the three-year period 2022-2024 to 50m euros.

Dr Ignacio Garcia-Ribas has also been appointed as the medical director of Oncomatryx, and he will be leading the clinical development of OMTX705, as well as overseeing the transition of molecules in the treatment pipeline from preclinical to clinical studies. Dr Garcia-Ribas is a medical oncologist with 17 years of experience in early-stage oncology drug development.
Oncomatryx’s work is primarily focused on the development of precision biopharmaceuticals that target the microenvironment of metastatic solid tumours.

A clinical trial of Amplivant – an adjuvant technology to boost immune response to cancer therapy –has begun.

ISA Pharmaceuticals’ novel technology is being tested in a multicentre clinical trial which is also testing the Moditop vaccine, Modi-1.

The first-in-human clinical trial brings Modi-1 to patients with triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer and renal cancer using the Amplivant adjuvant technology to boost immune response to the therapy.

“Adjuvants are crucial components of vaccines which boost efficacy, however there is lack of new, innovative and effective adjuvants in development to add to a limited armamentarium,” explained Professor Kees Melief, Chief Scientific Officer at ISA Pharmaceuticals.

“As such this is an important achievement and highlights the productive collaboration, we have with Scancell. The trial provides a further opportunity to demonstrate the potent adjuvant properties that Amplivant confers on therapeutic vaccines to potentially benefit patients with a broad range of solid tumours,” added Melief.

Professor Lindy Durrant, Chief Executive Officer at Scancell, concluded: “This is the first time we have taken a product from our Moditope platform into cancer patients. We are very excited about the prospects for Modi-1 based on the dramatic regression of large tumours in our preclinical models.”