THROMBOGENICS AND BIOINVENT GET 2 MILLION EURO EU GRANT

ThromboGenics and BioInvent International announced Dec. 28 that they have received a grant of 2 million euros from the European Union for the joint development of a new class of anti-angiogenesis agents. The new agents will be based on antibodies against placental growth factor (PlGF). This EU grant will support the research efforts initiated by ThromboGenics and BioInvent in 2004 as part of a strategic collaboration.

The funded research will be conducted within the ANGIOSTOP consortium that will also comprise four expert academic groups from Belgium, Germany and the UK — University of Leuven, VIB (Flanders Interuniversitary Institute for Biotechnology), University Medicine Berlin and Cardiff University.

The financial support from the EU's Framework Programme 6 will contribute over the next two years to the further development of the antibody-based product candidate TB-403 for treatment of tumours, inflammation and eye disease. TB-403 has shown good inhibition of PlGF-associated angiogenesis and tumour growth in preclinical models. The first stages in the toxicology program for this product candidate have already started.

The PlGF growth factor is secreted by tumours and is specifically expressed in cancer and chronicinflammatory conditions. It affects the formation of new blood vessels in tissue that are under stress. PlGF does not seem to affect normal, physiological angiogenesis, unlike other treatments already on the market. Therefore, the inhibition of PlGF is expected to have fewer side effects than existing anti-VEGF agents, but will still have the desired effect on various diseases.

The anti-angiogenesis collaboration is carried out within the existing alliance between ThromboGenics and BioInvent, originally initiated in September 2004. Another joint program focuses on the development of anti-Factor VIII monoclonal antibody as a novel anticoagulant therapy. An application to begin Phase I clinical studies is submitted in Denmark. This study of anti-Factor VIII antibody TB-402 is expected to start early next year.