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Algeta and Affibody Initiate Anticancer Targeted Therapy Collaboration

18 Aug 2006 - Algeta ASA and Affibody AB announced a research collaboration agreement to develop novel targeted radiotherapeutics. The collaboration will combine Algeta's TH-1 technology for attaching the alpha-particle emitting radionuclide thorium-227 to peptides and proteins, with Affibody® molecules that specifically target tumor cells over-expressing HER2, such as those present in breast and other cancers.
 
Targeted radiotherapeutics based on these leading-edge technologies will benefit from the proven high specificity and affinity of Affibody® molecules for their targets, which rivals, according to the company, that of antibodies but with significant physical and production advantages, and the high-energy, short-range alpha particle radiation from thorium-227. When thorium-227-labelled radiotherapeutics attach to tumor cells via unique molecular binding sites, a lethal dose of alpha-particle radiation destroys multiple tumor cells within a limited 2-10 cell diameter range of the binding site while leaving non-tumor tissue largely unaffected.
 
Clinical data confirm that Affibody® molecules can be engineered to have high tumor specificity. High affinity Affibody® molecules have been developed against a number of relevant therapy target proteins. These molecules will be used as carriers for different types of toxins in tumor therapy. Application of Affibody's proprietary albumin-binding technology yields Affibody® fusion proteins with biodistribution properties that perfectly match the half-life of thorium-227 (t1/2 = 18.7 days).