This week's Philadelphia-area life sciences industry news includes two Covid-19 treatment developments, a cancer therapy collaboration, a company's expansion of its management team, and more.
Here's the roundup:
Arbutus Biopharma
The Bucks County biopharmaceutical company has identified several molecules that inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 nsp5 main protease, a validated target for the treatment of Covid-19 and potential future coronavirus outbreaks.
The identification of the molecules marks the first milestone to be achieved under a Covid-19 discovery research and license agreement involving Arbutus (NASDAQ: ABUS) of Warminster; X-Chem Inc. of Waltham, Massachusetts; and Proteros Biostructures of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Under the terms of the April 2021 agreement, Arbutus has obtained a worldwide exclusive license to the identified molecules. In exchange for the license, Arbutus will make a milestone payment — the amount of which is being kept confidential — to X-Chem and Proteros.
Dr. Michael Sofia, Arbutus’s chief scientific officer, said the goal of the collaboration was to identify unique and differentiated assets to treat Covid-19 and any potential future coronavirus outbreaks. That work will continue.
“To have identified small molecule inhibitors that are potent and selective against [the SARS-CoV-2 nsp5 main protease] just six months after commencing this collaboration demonstrates the importance Arbutus, Proteros and X-Chem are placing on quickly developing effective and safe therapies to successfully combat the Covid-19 pandemic," Sofia said. "We are excited to have achieved this important milestone and to move this program forward into the lead optimization stage.”
Penn Medicine
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are studying whether a chewing gum laced with a plant-grown protein can lower the transmission of Covid-19.
The gum is designed to serve as a trap for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, reduce its viral load in saliva, and potentially tamp down the spread of the virus. In a study, published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the chewing gum infused with the ACE2 protein produced a reduction in the amount of virus in samples taken from Covid-19 patients.
The research is being led by Henry Daniell of Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in collaboration with scientists at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine, and scientists at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and Fraunhofer USA.
Carisma Therapeutics
The Philadelphia cell therapy developer entered into a collaboration with Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) to study a potential combination cancer therapy.
Under the partnership, the companies will evaluate Carisma's proprietary targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) macrophages with Merck's anti-cancer drug Keytruda to treat what are known as "human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpressing cancers."
Carisma, founded in 2016 by Penn scientists Michael Klichinsky and Saar Gill, is focused on treating cancer and other diseases using engineered macrophages, which are cells that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune response. Macrophages are found in stationary form at the sites of infection. Carisma earlier this year began early-stage human clinical testing of its new drug candidate CT-0508 as a potential treatment for solid tumors.
The company believes its platform has the potential ability to reprogram the solid tumor microenvironment to better activate a person's immune system to fight cancer.
Steven Kelly, CEO of Carisma Therapeutics, said the mechanisms of action behind CT-0508 and Keytruda suggest they may be complementary and could help to drive "meaningful clinical benefits" in patients with HER2 positive cancers, where a high unmet medical need exists.
A clinical study evaluating Carisma's autologous CAR macrophages in combination with Merck's Keytruda is expected to begin next year.
iEcure
The Philadelphia gene editing company expanded its management team with three new hires.
David Garrett joined iEcure as its chief financial officer, Kim Smith was appointed vice president of finance, and Ashley Kim was named director of business development.
Joseph Truitt, the company's CEO, said iEcure is "moving aggressively" to add experienced biotech executives to support its existing pipeline of therapeutic candidates and identify additional opportunities for in-licensing new delivery technologies.
Garrett was previously CFO of Dynacure, a French pharmaceutical company, and vice president and corporate controller at Nabriva Therapeutics in Fort Washington. Smith was most recently managing director of Genova Group, an accounting advisory firm. Before that, she was vice president of finance and corporate controller for Tmunity Therapeutics in Philadelphia and held financial leadership positions at local biotechnology companies Fibrocell and ViroPharma. Kim was previously director of business development at Jaguar Gene Therapy, a Deerfield portfolio company based in Illinois.
Quick hits
Integral Molecular said its catalog of 68 variant SARS-CoV-2 reporter virus particles (RVPs) now includes one for the omicron variant, which will allow researchers to safely test the ability of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies to neutralize the as-yet-uncharacterized viral threat. The Philadelphia biotechnology company’s RVPs are "pseudoviruses" that lack the viral components required to cause disease and are safe to use under standard laboratory conditions. … Berwyn-based Virpax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRPX) reported positive preclinical toxicology and pharmacokinetic study results for Epoladerm, one of the company's lead new drug candidates that is being developed as a treatment for pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee.
