MD Anderson and Panacea Venture join forces to develop antibody-based therapies for oncology
Manaolana Oncology Inc., a new company combining the expertise of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA) and Panacea Venture (Shanghai, China), has been launched to develop and advance antibody-based therapies to target novel cancer antigens.
Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies are recognized as important treatment options for many types of cancer, designed to identify and bind to specific cancer cell antigens to manipulate signaling pathways or recruit immune cells to the tumor. Manaolana Oncology seeks to harness the antibody production capabilities and intellectual property of MD Anderson to research and develop novel mAbs as well as other antibody-based therapies. These therapies would target a range of cancer types, aiming to advance therapies into clinical studies conducted at MD Anderson. The company will be headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles (CA, USA).
Winson Tang, MD, co-founder of Manaolana Oncology, commented:
“By developing therapies targeting new tumor antigens, Manaolana Oncology aims to address a critical need for patients with cancer. Manaolana is the Hawaiian word for hope, and it is our intent to offer patients renewed hope against this disease. Manaolana Oncology brings together MD Anderson’s expert scientists and clinicians with Panacea’s experienced biotechnology team to create a focused organization working to develop a novel portfolio of monoclonal antibodies.”
Having conducted extensive characterization of the cancer surfaceome, the laboratory of Samir Hanash, MD, Professor of Clinical Cancer Prevention at MD Anderson, has produced a comprehensive catalog of proteins found on the surface of cancer cells across many tumor types. Hanash explained:
“By combing through petabytes of proteomic data, our team has uncovered many cancer-restricted antigens that may offer prime targets for monoclonal antibody therapies. We look forward to collaborating with Manaolana Oncology to develop novel antibody-based therapeutics that offer patients impactful new treatment options.”
Kevin McBride, PhD, Associate Professor of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis at MD Anderson, is another pioneering scientist developing a high-throughput platform to clone and produce mAbs from isolated B-cells. His work is enabling the development of highly specific antibodies against a specific cell surface target to create novel mAb therapeutics. McBride further explained:
“This is an important evolution because current approaches to creating high-quality mAbs require lengthy and intensive production protocols, which can be costly and are not always successful,” McBride stated. “We look forward to working with Manaolana Oncology to build on these techniques and rapidly bring forward innovative therapies for clinical evaluation.”
By combining these techniques developed at MD Anderson with Panacea Venture’s experienced biotechnology team, Manaolana Oncology hopes to improve the speed and efficiency of antibody-based therapeutic production.
