BIND Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing targeted and programmable therapeutics called ACCURINS®, has announced a research collaboration with Affilogic, a privately held biotechnology company developing affinity proteins called Nanofitins® that selectively bind and interact with identified targets. Under terms of the collaboration, BIND will utilize Nanofitins® as targeting ligand components for ACCURINS® designed to bind immuno-oncology targets. Upon achievement of proof-of-concept, BIND anticipates expanding the collaboration to develop ACCURINS® that incorporate unique combinations of immuno-oncology targeting ligands and new classes of payloads, including oligonucleotides and molecularly targeted therapies.
“Targeting ligand collaborations are an important part of our strategy to develop innovative medicines and this collaboration provides us with access to targeting ligands that are key modulators of anti-tumor immunity,” said Jonathan Yingling, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, BIND Therapeutics. “The modular nature of our platform, including the ability to utilize targeting ligands that elicit a biological response and enhance disease tissue accumulation, will potentially allow us to develop ACCURINS® that cause tumor cell death and/or modulate the tumor microenvironment as a way to maximize clinical benefit for patients.”
ACCURINS® are polymeric nanoparticles that encapsulate and control the release of therapeutic payloads with diverse physical and chemical properties, including highly charged payloads such as oligonucleotides and molecularly targeted therapies that have previously been difficult to formulate in a nanoparticle. Additionally, the surface of ACCURINS® can be functionalized with a variety of biologically active ligands, potentially with multiple types of ligands on the same particle. BIND’s collaboration with Affilogic is intended to investigate the use of Nanofitins® protein ligands that bind to important immune regulators.
“We are excited about our collaboration with BIND Therapeutics and believe our Nanofitin® targeting ligands can play an important role in BIND’s innovative medicine strategy,” said Olivier Kitten, chief executive officer, AFFILOGIC. “BIND’s ACCURINS® platform has proven very effective at encapsulating and controlling the release kinetics of a wide variety of therapeutic payloads. When combined with our ability to specifically tailor Nanofitins to target important immune-oncology checkpoints, we believe this collaboration could lead to the discovery and development of truly innovative therapeutics.”
This early research collaboration is not expected to have a material financial impact on BIND Therapeutics. Additional terms of the collaboration have not been disclosed.