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Newcastle biotech firms partner to develop anti-cancer drugs

With Newcastle enjoying a growing reputation as a leader in advanced biotechnology, the city is this week hosting the UK Bioindustry Association’s annual conference, where collaboration and innovation in the industry will be on show.

Two such Newcastle-based biotech firms, which are working together to achieve scientific advances, are Orla Protein Technologies Ltd (Orla) and Glythera.

Partnering on advanced new test procedures used in the production of highly potent biopharmaceutical drugs, the Newcastle businesses hope to help deliver targeted treatment for people with cancer.

Glythera uses patented technology that works with cancer drugs such as the anti-breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) to load them with a “cargo” toxin to create a highly specific treatment that specifically kills only the target cancer cells.

The manufacture of these so-called antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) is a highly complex process that requires specialist testing during the development phase to ensure that the anticancer drug can reliably impart its cancer-killing effect on the target cells.

To meet this challenge, specialist protein-based technology has been developed by Centre for Life-based Orla to provide a simple, quick and easy means of testing the ability of the ADC to bind to its target on the cancer cell to provide a reliable indicator of antibody function.

Dave Simpson, chief executive at Glythera, said: “The development of effective analytical and test methods is crucial in the development of complex drugs like these and the aim was to develop a simple in-process tool that was capable of meeting this challenge.

“The collaboration with Orla has proved to be very successful in this respect, and although there are other methods to test ADC functionality these are more time consuming and expensive.

“As a result, the assay developed with Orla’s advanced protein accelerates optimisation and assists in decision making by quickly establishing whether a specific condition affects ADC binding and its impact on drug effectiveness.”

As a result of the work the new tools and technology platform is expected to find applications across the global biomanufacturing sector.

Dr Dale Athey, chief executive of Orla, said: ““We are delighted to have worked with Glythera, a key player in ADC drug manufacture to successfully validate our approach for this vitally important application.

“It is particularly satisfying that two local companies have been able to come together to use their unique skills to provide a highly innovative solution.

“The new assay has enormous possibilities and potential across the pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing sector and will further reinforce the reputation of the North East biotech sector.”

Both firms will be in attendance at the UK Bioindustry Association’s annual conference, held on Wednesday this week.

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