Aquila BioMedical and Macrophage Pharma partner on immuno-oncology program.
Aquila BioMedica has secured an extended agreement with UK-based biotech firm Macrophage Pharma to support its preclinical immuno-oncology programs.
Macrophage Pharma’s Esterase Sensitive Motif (ESM) technology enables delivery of novel, small molecule drug candidates to tumor associated macrophages in a selective manner to reverse immunosuppression established in the tumor microenvironment, and could progress to provide a next-generation immunotherapy with broad utility in oncology.
Macrophage Pharma’s immuno-oncology program with Aquila will incorporate a combination of in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo analyses. This will generate data to enable Macrophage Pharma to identify the best preclinical candidate for investigational new drug (IND) selection to enter Phase 1 clinical trials.
“We are delighted to announce our partnership with Macrophage Pharma. Our specialist immuno-oncology and multiplex histology capabilities are designed to enable our clients to make decisions earlier in the drug development process and potentially inform on clinical indications,” Clare Doris, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Aquila BioMedical, said. “Previous work with Macrophage Pharma has established innovative and tailored biology solutions, producing high value mechanistic data that will help progress its promising molecules to the clinic.”