AbGn-108, being developed by AbGenomics International, is an antibody-drug conjugate or ADC targeting lung and ovarian cancers. By using linker/payload combination with site-specific conjugation based on AbGenomics technology platform, the investigational drug has demonstrated a superior in vivo antitumor efficacy and a acceptable safety profile.
Lung cancer
Lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell) remains, according to the American Cancer Society, the second most common cancer in men and women (not counting skin cancer) worldwide and is the most common cause of death from cancer worldwide. In men, prostate cancer is more common, while in women breast cancer is more common. About 14% of all new cancers are lung cancers. About 1 out of 4 cancer deaths are from lung cancer. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
Today, none of the existing therapies including bevacizumab (Avastin®; Genentech), pemetrexed (Alimta®; Eli Lilly and Company) and erlotinib (Tarceva®; Genentech) are able to offer an all-encompassing solution, creating a large unmet need.
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer accounts, according to the American cancer Society, for about 3% of cancers among women, but it causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. It ranks as the ninth most common cancer in women. With the existing therapeutics, however, the overall five-year survival rate of ovarian cancer patients is only 44%.
Investigational New Drug
AbGn-108, which is currently in early IND-enabling stage of development, provides a superb opportunity for the treatment of these two deadly cancers.
Competitive Advantage
Although chemotherapy still plays a major role in the treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer, with platinum-based therapies being the mainstay of first-line treatment, most patients with advanced disease at diagnosis will have recurrence of their disease within 5 years.
Other biologics including naked antibody and a small molecule drug conjugate, targeting the same tumor-associated antigens as AbGn-108 have previously been evaluated in clinical trials, but stopped due to insufficient efficacy. As the similar development advantage shown in other xenograft antitumor studies, in clinical studies AbGn-108 was much more potent and efficacious than its related reference ADC.
AbGn-108 is a best-in-class antibody-drug conjugate designed to treat current therapy-resistant populations who have a very poor outcome with the existing medicine and needs for new treatment options.
