Application of Pascal’s new antibody for treatment of acute leukemia with Y-Biologics bispecific antibody platform technology (ALiCE) ​

 

Y-Biologics has signed its first international partnership agreement in relation to its proprietary antibody platform technology, Antibody-Like Cell Engager (ALiCE). A joint research agreement was concluded with Pascal Biosciences to use ALiCE to develop bispecific antibodies.

 

 

According to the contract, Y-Biologics’ ALiCE will be applied to Pascal’s new antibody for treatment of acute leukemia. The aim is to develop a blood cancer therapeutic agent with minimal toxicity and the efficacy of a T cell engager that draws T cells to cancer antigens. The two companies plan to discover and verify lead antibodies together. However, the financial details were kept confidential.

 

 

Pascal is a biotech company based in Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, USA. It was established in 2013 with the transfer of technology from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Pascal has an antibody that binds to an antigen specific to acute leukemia. Compared to CD19 or CD20, the antigen in question undergoes limited expression during the differentiation process of B cells, which is why it is expected to be associated with fewer side effects.

 

 

Y-Biologics’ ALiCE is a bispecific T cell engager platform. The platform consists of Fab, targeting two (bivalent) cancer antigens, and CD3 Fv, targeting one (monovalent) cancer antigen. A binding group for antibody purification is unnecessary in the production process, so it can be rapidly manufactured without any antibody modification, and the production cost is low as well. The ALiCE platform, however, does not have an effector function, and for this reason, Y-Biologics entered into a joint development agreement with Dualogics earlier this year to obtain a bispecific antibody with an effector function.

 

 

Young Woo Park, CEO of Y-Biologics, said, “Pascal is a biotech company with a CEO and executives from companies specializing in antibodies, such as Genentech, Amgen, and MacroGenics, and it is expected to help prove the excellence of our platform technology from various aspects.” 

 

Patrick Gray, CEO of Pascal, said, “It brings me great pleasure to collaborate with Y-Biologics, one of the leading companies in the field of bispecific antibodies. I believe this collaboration will lead to the development of a new therapeutic agent that will become a game changer in the treatment of leukemia.”

 

 

 

By Sung Min Kim, sungmin.kim@bios.co.kr