OncoSynergy and Infuseon Therapeutics Partner to Combat Glioblastoma

By June 20, 2017news

SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 20, 2017.

Infuseon Therapeutics and OncoSynergy have entered into a strategic alliance to test an investigational glioblastoma therapeutic, OS2966, in combination with a novel delivery device, the Cleveland Multiport CatheterTM. Glioblastoma is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor. Despite a median survival of merely 12 months, there have been only four FDA approved therapies and no improvement in overall survival in nearly three decades. This unmet need is driven in part by the inability of most chemotherapies and particularly biologics to penetrate the blood-brain-barrier.

Infuseon Therapeutics’ unique therapy delivery device, the Cleveland Multiport CatheterTM (CMC), a multiport convection-enhanced delivery catheter, was designed by neurosurgeon Michael Vogelbaum, MD, PhD, from Cleveland Clinic’s Brain Tumor and NeuroOncology Center, to more effectively deliver life-saving drugs to patients at the site of their disease. The reliability of the CMC as a loco-regional delivery device has been validated in pilot clinical trials involving delivery of a chemotherapy along with an MRI visible tracer in patients with recurrent high grade gliomas.

OncoSynergy is a UCSF spinout headquartered at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS) in South San Francisco. JLABS @ SSF is a 30,000 square-foot life science innovation incubator, located in South San Francisco. The labs provide a flexible environment for start-up companies pursuing new technologies and research platforms to advance medical care. Through a “no strings attached” model, Johnson & Johnson Innovation does not take an equity stake in the companies occupying JLABS and the companies are free to develop products – either on their own, or by initiating a separate external partnership with Johnson & Johnson Innovation or any other company. OncoSynergy’s  first-in-class humanized and de-immunized monoclonal pan-CD29 antibody, OS2966, has demonstrated dramatic efficacy in multiple models of highly aggressive and metastatic solid cancers. Based on these data, the FDA has granted two Orphan Drug Designations for OS2966 including in the treatment of glioblastoma.

“We are pleased to join forces with Infuseon Therapeutics to tackle the complex biology of glioblastoma,” commented Anne-Marie Carbonell, MD, Vice President of Clinical Development at OncoSynergy. “The innovative combination of OS2966 and the CMC device seeks to address a huge unmet need and potentially change the way we treat patients suffering from malignant brain tumors.”

The collaboration aims to establish proof of concept that OS2966 can be successfully delivered directly to the brain with the CMC device as an impetus for a Phase I trial for the treatment of glioblastoma.

“Infuseon’s Cleveland Multiport Catheter was designed specifically to deliver therapeutics directly to the site of disease,” said Michael Vogelbaum, MD, PhD, co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Infuseon Therapeutics. “We are excited to pursue a potentially novel therapeutic approach to this difficult disease.”

About Infuseon Therapeutics – Infuseon Therapeutics was founded in 2012 by Cleveland Clinic for the purpose of developing its patented unique therapeutic delivery device, the Cleveland Multiport CatheterTM (CMC). Infuseon has collaborated with Parker-Hannifin Corporation, a global leader in motion and control technologies to enhance the medical design, development, and manufacturing expertise of the company. As an inventor of the multiport catheter, Dr. Vogelbaum is entitled to a portion of any commercialization revenues Cleveland Clinic receives from Infuseon. To learn more visit www.infuseontherapeutics.com

Media contact: Neema Mayhugh, PhD   nmayhugh@infuseontherapeutics.com  (216) 312-9165

 

About OncoSynergy – Oncosynergy is a UCSF spinout with primary operations in JLABS @ SSF, California. The company was founded in 2011 to address the complexity of cancer for more durable patient outcomes through the development of a new class of oncology therapeutics, called Resistance Mechanism Inhibitors (RMIs). RMIs uniquely inhibit multiple Cancer Hallmarks simultaneously. The lead RMI drug candidate, OS2966, is on track for Phase I clinical trials in 2018. To learn more visit www.oncosynergy.com

Media Contact:  Anne-Marie Carbonell, MD, info@oncosynergy.com +1 (203) 428-6507

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