Dowpharma and Cytogen unite in pursuit of cancer treatment

Under the agreement, Dowpharma’s proprietary MeO-DOTA bifunctional chelant technology will be used to radiolabel Cytogen’s prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) antibody with a therapeutic radionuclide. PSMA is a protein highly expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells and the neovasculature of many solid tumors.

The collaboration, which caused Cytogen’s share price to rise by over 14%, will exploit Dowpharma’s chelation technology to attach a therapeutic radioisotope to the same murine monoclonal antibody utilized by another of Cytogen’s molecular imaging agents, Prostascint.

The anti-body, called 7E11-C5.3, is directed against an intracellular epitope of PSMA. The 7E11 antibody was excluded from the PSMA technology licensed to the PSMA development company LLC, the company’s joint venture for PSMA product development. Consequently, the joint venture is not involved in this development initiative.

Both companies have announced their excitement over the joint venture. “We are delighted that we are applying our capabilities in chelation, conjugation, process and radiochemistry to enable Cytogen to develop this novel cancer therapy,” said Nick Hyde, business director, Dowpharma. “Monoclonal antibodies labeled with radionuclides have proven successful for both the diagnosis and treatment of several tumors.”