Algeta appoints Lars Abrahmsén as Senior Vice President, Protein Therapeutics

New role created to drive the development of Algeta's Thorium platform

11-Nov-2010 - Norway

Algeta ASA announced that Dr. Lars Abrahmsén has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Protein Therapeutics and will take up this new role on 15 November 2010.

Dr. Abrahmsén will be responsible for the development of Algeta's Thorium platform and for building and overseeing the preclinical development of a pipeline of alpha-pharmaceutical candidates based on tumor-targeted thorium-227 conjugates. Algeta's strategy for enhancing its alpha-pharmaceutical pipeline, beyond Alpharadin, is focused initially on the development of a robust proprietary position around its Thorium platform through both in-house development and selective in-licensing.

This program builds on the excellent progress made with Alpharadin, an alpha-pharmaceutical being developed in a phase III trial by Algeta and Bayer Schering Pharma for treating bone metastases arising from castration-resistant prostate cancer, which has demonstrated encouraging survival, efficacy and safety data in phase I and II.

Dr. Abrahmsén will join Algeta from Affibody AB, a Swedish company developing proprietary targeting molecules for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, where he was Chief Scientific Officer since 2004. He has a wealth of experience in protein engineering, including monoclonal antibody production and conjugation, gained at Affibody, Genentech and at Pharmacia, where he established their phage display and antibody cloning capabilities. Over the past 20 years, working mostly in oncology, Dr. Abrahmsén has led several projects from discovery through preclinical development and into the clinic, developing an expert knowledge of technologies for conjugation of therapeutic payloads to monoclonal antibodies and targeting molecules.

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Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous

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Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous