Aptevo Therapeutics and Alligator Bioscience Prepare for IND Development

Biotech Investing

Aptevo Therapeutics and Alligator Bioscience announced they have initiated CMC activities for the manufacturing of clinical material in preparation for a future IND.

Aptevo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APVO) and Alligator Bioscience (STO:ATORX) announced they have initiated CMC activities for the manufacturing of clinical material in preparation for a future investigational new drug (IND) submission for the bispecific immuno-oncology antibody ALG.APV-527.
As quoted in the press release:

ALG.APV-527 was the subject of a collaboration agreement announced by the companies in July 2017. It targets the co-stimulatory receptor 4-1BB and an undisclosed tumor antigen that directs the immune activation to the tumor area. 4-1BB is known to enhance the immune response to cancer through activation of tumor-specific T cells and is believed to be a promising target for new immunotherapeutic approaches. The bispecific antibody candidate could potentially have utility in the treatment of a broad spectrum of cancers over-expressing the tumor antigen, including breast, cervical, non-small-cell-lung, prostate, renal, gastric, colorectal and bladder cancers.
“With CMC and IND enabling activities underway, our partnership with Aptevo is moving ahead rapidly”, said Per Norlén, Chief Executive Officer of Alligator Bioscience. “Having worked collaboratively to design and engineer ALG.APV-527, we are pleased to now announce its advancement into preclinical development. This bispecific antibody brings tumor directed immunotherapy to the next level. By making the immune activation dependent on binding to a tumor antigen we have created a candidate drug with potential for improved efficacy and fewer side effects.”