Selexis SA and OSE Immunotherapeutics SA announced the signing of two commercial license agreements (CLAs) that provide OSE with access to high-performance research cell banks (RCBs) developed using the Selexis SUREtechnology Platform. The agreements are designed to support the advancement of the clinical development of OSE-172 (Effi-DEM), OSE’s new generation immune myeloid checkpoint inhibitor, as well as OSE-703 (Effi-3), OSE’s cancer immunotherapy, which is a cytotoxic monoclonal antibody targeting the IL-7 receptor.
“This is our third signed CLA with OSE this year, and we believe the rapid expansion of our relationship is a direct result of the utility and flexibility of our cell-line expression technology across protein therapeutics and development stages,” said Marco Bocci, PhD, DPharm, Selexis vice president, licensing and business development. “One of the most fulfilling aspects of our work at Selexis is that we are able to play a role in our partners’ success, which means the possibility of new therapeutic options for patients with many life-threatening diseases. Selexis’ technology can scale with OSE’s developmental needs, and provide the company with a fast, stable and reliable method of protein expression. This is critical for the development of recombinant, protein-based medicines like OSE-172 and OSE-703.”
Selexis’ proprietary SUREtechnology Platform facilitates the rapid, stable, and cost-effective production of virtually any recombinant protein and provides seamless integration of the biologics development continuum, spanning discovery to commercialization.
A new generation immune checkpoint inhibitor, OSE-172 (Effi-DEM) is a monoclonal antibody targeting SIRP-α, expressed on suppressive myeloid cells involved in the tumor microenvironment. As selective antagonist of SIRP-α, OSE-172 transforms the tumour microenvironment by blocking suppressor cells and activating anti-tumour effector cells. OSE-172 is planned to enter Phase 1/2 clinical phase in 2018.
OSE-703 (Effi-3) is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the extracellular domain of the alpha-chain of the receptor for interleukin-7, cytotoxic for human cells expressing CD127. Under a research collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the cancer immunotherapy is in preclinical studies for solid tumors with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as the primary cancer model.