AIM-listed contract research organisation Fusion Antibodies in Belfast has filed a patent application for a panel of antibodies that bind to an important target for cancer therapeutics.
The company, founded in 2001 as a spin out from Queen's University Belfast, said the antibodies have the potential to inhibit the pro-tumourigenic activity of their target in cancer, which is supported by pre-clinical data.
Options to out-licence these antibodies to a clinical development company to progress them into phase one clinical trials are also being explored by Fusion, which provides discovery, design, and optimisation services for therapeutic antibodies to the global healthcare market.
Fusion's chief executive Dr Adrian Kinkaid said: “We have a dedicated team of scientists who continue to work on antibody discovery and expression, and we remain confident in our ability to grow and create opportunities in this field.
“We look forward to being able to update the market further, whilst also growing our patent portfolio.”
Fusion Antibodies' growth strategy is based on combining the latest technological advances with cutting edge science to deliver new platforms that will enable pharma and biotech companies get to the clinic faster, with the optimal drug candidate and ultimately speed up the drug development process.
The global monoclonal antibody therapeutics market was valued at more than $212 billion (£173bn) last year, and seven of the world's 10 top selling drugs were antibody-based therapeutics with the combined annual sales of these drugs exceeding $63 billion (£51.4bn).
