A production laboratory founded by the Minnesota Partnership has transferred its
first potential therapy - a medication for multiple sclerosis - to a processing
plant in Minnesota. This step will complete purification of material to fully
enable translation from preclinical to clinical development.
The
antibody known as rHIgM22, developed at Mayo Clinic, was produced and purified
in the Biotherapeutic Protein Production Laboratory created by a Partnership
infrastructure award in 2006. This laboratory was developed within the Molecular
and Cellular Therapeutics Facility on the St. Paul campus of the University of
Minnesota. The therapy is under license to Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ACOR), which is supporting the development of this potential therapy. This
includes the Minnesota Partnership's transfer of remaining production and
purification to Biovest, Inc., in Minneapolis.
"The preclinical success
and the promise of this program to date have only enhanced our commitment to the
continued advancement of this potential new therapy for people with multiple
sclerosis," says Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda president and CEO. "The Partnership has
provided a mechanism for academic and commercial institutions to work together
effectively in the early stages of developing a promising and innovative
therapeutic approach to a very challenging condition."
The importance of
the antibody as a promoter of myelin repair (remyelination) was recognized in
studies using experimental animal models of multiple sclerosis. The studies were
directed by Moses Rodriguez, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. Multiple sclerosis
is a progressive disease, caused by damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds
nerves. It can affect the brain and the spinal cord, leaving patients
permanently disabled. The rHIgM22 antibody initiates the re-growth or repair of
the damaged myelin sheath but has yet to be tested in patients.
The
initial synthetic production of the therapeutic antibody was developed in the
laboratory of Larry Pease, Ph.D., chair of immunology at Mayo. Early stage
process development was also performed in collaboration with Acorda
Therapeutics. The Partnership facility subsequently developed production of the
antibody into a validated process that can be used to produce antibody for
patient studies. John Wagner, M.D., at the University of Minnesota, and Dr.
Pease were the principal investigators on the Minnesota Partnership grant. The
grant established the protein production facility with the mission of providing
good manufacturing (GMP) technical support to investigators at the University of
Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to move laboratory advancements into clinical trials.
The developmental work on this antibody at the protein production facility was
funded by philanthropic gifts from the Eugene Applebaum Family Foundation, the
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and anonymous benefactors.
"The Minnesota
Partnership was instrumental in providing the infrastructure to develop this
monoclonal antibody to this point," says Dr. Pease. "This antibody would not be
headed into clinical studies or toward commercialization otherwise."
"This is exactly what the Partnership is intended to do," says program
director Eric Wieben, Ph.D. "That is to promote interactions between the two
leading medical research institutions in Minnesota and to accelerate medical
discoveries that can be commercialized for the benefit of patients while
improving our state's economy."
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Article adapted by Medical News Today
from original press release.
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The
Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration
among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To
learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.
Source: Nick Hanson
University of Minnesota
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