About This Program

This program aims to develop anti-Galectin-3 therapeutic monoclonal antibody for non-small cell lung cancer immunotherapy.

Rationale for our program:

• Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cannot be cured, with a median survival of 12 months. There is an urgent need for more effective treatments.
• Immunotherapy (e.g. anti-PD-L1, PD-1, and CTLA-4) has recently been shown unprecedented efficacy in patients with NSCLC. However, the patient's response is limited, thus promoting an intensive study that combines immune checkpoint inhibition with other targeted drugs to overcome resistance.
• Galectin-3 is highly expressed in the tumor microenvironment of invasive cancers, and its expression is associated with poor survival, particularly in patients with NSCLC. Numerous studies have revealed the inhibitory effect of galectin-3 on activated cytotoxic T lymphocyte CTLs and are critical for M2 macrophage differentiation.

Given the above, Galectin-3 is an ideal candidate target for the treatment of NSCLC.

Galectin-3

Galectin is involved in physiological and pathological events such as cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, immune response, cell differentiation, and tumor progression. A large-scale investigation of the mechanism of the galectin family is currently underway. Galectin-3 is the only chimeric galectin in vertebrates and is one of the most studied galectins. It is involved in a variety of biological processes including cell adhesion, cell activation, cell growth and differentiation, cell cycle and apoptosis. Galectin-3 is widely expressed in several cell types, such as macrophages, fibroblasts, activated T lymphocytes and epithelial cells, especially in highly lethal cancers such as NSCLC.

Fig.1 Galectin-3 modulates tumor cell behavior. (Fortuna-Costa, 2014)

Recent studies have shown that:

• Galectin-3 ^{- / -} mice do not support tumor growth in lung adenocarcinoma mouse xenograft models.



• The Galectin-3 inhibitor GB1107 inhibits the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in vivo.

(Vuong, 2019)

These data support the rationale for the development of the first-in-class human anti-Galectin-3 with an improved therapeutic index for the treatment of lung malignances.

NSCLC

• The global NSCLC drug market is expected to post a CAGR of more than 13% during the period 2019-2023.
• The global NSCLC drug market is expected to increase by more than $25 billion between 2018 and 2026.

Ongoing Clinical Trials

• Currently, NO anti- Galectin-3 therapeutic monoclonal antibodies have been evaluated in clinical trials.
• We believe that this novel targeting strategy will provide insights into the tumor immunotherapy, especially in the treatment of NSCLC cancer. In an effort to optimally leverage Galectin-3-mediated immune response, our next-IO™ Galectin-3 targeted antibody program attempts to explore the optimal combination therapy trials by involving other immunomodulatory agents, particularly immune checkpoints.

Program Plan

We have extensive knowledge of end-to-end program development. For each program, we are committed to delivering the final complete program to our clients within 1.5 years before entering the IND stage.

Cooperation

Creative Biolabs is looking for potential partners (include but not limit to major pharma or biotech firms) to develop Galectin-3 therapeutic monoclonal antibody program together. Our scientists are dedicated to bringing years of valuable experience to our partner and achieve a meaningful partnership together. For any partners interested in our Next-IO™ programs, Creative Biolabs welcomes collaboration.

Here are two ways for your choice, and please contact us for more details.

1) Collaborate with us and co-develop the programs from the discovery phase to IND enabling. Costs will be shared.

2) Become a licensed candidate for our programs.

With our quality control protocol and knowledge of global regulatory requirements, we can help our partners further their programs with more chances to succeed. Look forward to cooperating with you in the near future.

References

1. Fortuna-Costa, A.; et al. Extracellular galectin-3 in tumor progression and metastasis. Frontiers in oncology. 2014, 4: 138.
2. Vuong, L.; et al. An orally active galectin-3 antagonist inhibits lung adenocarcinoma growth and augments response to PD-L1 blockade. Cancer Research. 2019, 79(7): 1480-1492.

For Research Use Only | Not For Clinical Use