Optimum’s clients are at the forefront of Cancer research

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World Cancer Day is a moment when all of us stop and think of the impact that cancer has on our lives. As the second-leading cause of death worldwide, with 10 million people dying from cancer every year, cancer is a very present healthcare threat. [tag] Macmillan Cancer Support estimates that there are currently 3m cancer sufferers in the UK alone, and that this is forecast to rise by 76% to 5.3m by 2040. In the US, 1.7m new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2019, while in Europe 4m people were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and there were 1.9m cancer-related deaths. 

At Optimum Strategic Communications, we are very proud of the incredible work that our brilliant clients are doing to try and address this head on. Today of all days, we want to reflect on and celebrate this great work. 

From well-established treatment pathways like radiation therapy, to revolutionary new treatments using Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) or RNA, our clients are focused on developing innovative and  targeted ways of treating cancer:  

 

  • Adcendo ApS is developing innovative antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of underserved cancers. The Company’s lead program uPARAP ADC asset is a collagen receptor which plays an important physiological role in collagen homeostasis by active internalization of collagen fragments. uPARAP displays highly efficient and constitutively active internalization and recycling properties. 

 

  • Ariceum Therapeutics is developing satoreotide, a radiopharmaceutical product for the diagnosis and systemic targeted radiation therapy of neuroendocrine cancers and certain other aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers. 

 

  • CellCentric is pioneering small molecule inhibition of the twin proteins, p300/CBP. It is focused on the rapid development of inobrodib, a first-in-class small molecule p300/CBP inhibitor, which has the potential to benefit patients with many different cancer indications. 

 

  • Gadeta is pioneering the development of gamma delta (γδ) TCR-based immunotherapies for solid tumors. By harnessing γδ-TCRs, that naturally target stress related antigens expressed by cancer tissues, Gadeta’s technology has the potential to deliver highly effective and novel therapy options to cancer patients. 

 

  • ImaginAb is focused on developing 89Zr crefmirlimab berdoxam (CD8 ImmunoPET™) imaging agent, which is currently in Phase II clinical trials and has been licensed by several  pharmaceutical and biotech companies for use in imaging within their immunotherapy clinical trials. 

 

  • iOnctura is uncovering the key to unlock difficult to treat tumors burdened by stroma and immune mediated resistance, by interrogating new mechanisms that disrupt the dynamic interplay at the heart of the tumor-stroma-immune interface. 

 

  • ISA Pharmaceuticals has best-in-class technology to stimulate and activate the human immune system, specifically T cells, to fight diseased or infected cells. Its lead asset ISA101b is in late-stage clinical trials for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-induced cancers in a collaboration with biotechnology company Regeneron. 

 

  • Leucid Bio is a pioneering biotech company developing next generation CAR-T therapies to improve treatment outcomes and save the lives of patients with resistant, hard-to-treat cancers, most notably solid tumours. Leucid’s LEU011 lead asset is a NKG2D CAR T-cell therapy in pre-clinical development for the treatment of solid tumours and haematological malignancies.  

 

  • NeoPhore is focused on the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapies to treat cancer through stimulation of the immune system. The Company’s approach targets the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway, which has been proven to promote neoantigen creation and subsequent immunity against numerous cancers. Using these insights, NeoPhore aims to generate next-generation immuno-oncology therapeutics to improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients.

 

  • Ona Therapeutics is developing novel therapeutic biologics targeting lipid metabolism to treat advanced cancer. In June 2020, Ona Therapeutics raised €30 million in Series A financing to complete the pre-clinical development in a variety of tumor types and to move its lead candidate into first clinical studies in patients with metastatic cancer in 2023. 

 

  • Pheon Therapeutics specialises in the super-hot research area of Antibody Drug Conjugates. Pheon’s lead program is a first-in-class ADC against a novel target that is highly expressed in solid tumors across a broad range of hard-to-treat cancer types.  

 

  • Precirix is dedicated to extending and improving the lives of cancer patients by developing novel targeted radiopharmaceuticals, using camelid single domain antibody fragments. The company is advancing its lead product CAM-H2 through a Phase I/II clinical trial targeting HER2-positive tumors, while further progressing and broadening its oncology pipeline.

 

  • STORM Therapeutics is the first ever biotech company to put a specifically targeted RNA-modifying enzyme (RME) inhibitor into the clinic. STORM was named in the “Fierce 15” as one of the most exciting biotechnology companies in the industry. It is advancing its first-in-class clinical candidate STC-15, an orally bioavailable, highly selective METTL3 inhibitor, which commenced a Phase 1 clinical trial in cancer patients with solid tumors in November 2022.  

 

  • Synaffix’s award winning ADC platform technology platform brings significant improvements to next generation ADCs and is now being used to develop >20 different targeted cancer therapeutics across 11 collaborations with top-tier biotech and pharma companies. 

 

  • Versameb uses RNA-based drugs for the modulation of protein expression and cellular targeting and is exploring oncology to validate its multi-protein platform in cancer therapies. Its lead therapeutic candidate VMB-100 has demonstrated first-in-class potential for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI).