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Navrogen Signs Commercial License Agreement with The National Cancer Institute to Develop Next-Generation Therapies for Immuno-suppressed Cancers
Cheyney, PA, September 29, 2020 — Navrogen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specialized in developing therapies for cancer and immune-related disorders, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the commercialization of mesothelin-targeting agents.
Mesothelin is a cell surface protein that is over-expressed on a number of cancer types. Previous studies have found that certain therapeutic antibodies, which use humoral immune function for target cell killing, as well as antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) targeting mesothelin are negatively affected by factors produced in the tumor microenvironment. Navrogen has employed its proprietary Humoral Immuno Oncology (HIO) technology to screen for anti-mesothelin antibodies that are refractory to tumor-produced, immuno-suppressive factors from multiple sources and identified an anti-mesothelin antibody from the NCI collection. Navrogen has reformatted the antibody using next gen technologies and is advancing it into preclinical studies against a wide range of mesothelin-expressing cancers.
“We are pleased to obtain this commercial license from the NCI” said Dr. Nicholas Nicolaides, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Navrogen. “Our team’s experience with this target will enable us to make key development decisions to maximize the opportunity for clinical success and offer patients with mesothelin-expressing cancers new therapeutic options.”
Dr. Luigi Grasso, Chief Scientific Officer of Navrogen added, “We were delighted to identify an anti-mesothelin antibody that can naturally avoid the humoral immuno-suppressive effects caused by certain tumor-produced proteins. Our work with this antibody has shown positive activity across some of the more aggressive preclinical models tested. We look forward to expanding upon these preliminary findings and sharing our results with the oncology community in the near future.”
About NavrogenTM Inc.
Navrogen is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery of tumor produced Humoral Immuno Oncology (HIO)-factors that are associated with cancer prognosis and therapeutic response of immune-mediated anti-cancer therapies. The company’s mission is to develop diagnostic assays that can identify patients whose tumors produce HIO-factors to advise physicians on therapeutic options as well as develop first-in-class agents that can overcome the immuno-suppressive effects of a HIO-factor by employing its proprietary screening and engineering technologies
Navrogen Contacts:
Investor Inquiries: Nicholas Nicolaides (CEO), [email protected] +1 (610)-399-2717
Media Inquiries: Steve Kyriakos (VP of Finance & Operations), [email protected] +1 (610)-399-2717