CCI – A new class of therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies

Raven is extending its technology platform that has produced its library of tumor-specific antibodies to discover and develop a novel class of therapeutic antibodies. This new approach mechanistically links therapeutic antibodies to concurrent small molecule or radiation therapy. The company’s work in this area is based on the hypothesis that chemotherapy or radiation therapy alters the membranes of the surviving or resistant cancer cells. Utilizing these drug-treated cancer stem cells as immunogens has produced antibodies that target novel antigens on the drug-treated tumor cell surface. We call this process conditioned cell immunization (CCI). The antibodies produced in this process may injure or modulate the biology of cancer cells exposed to standard therapy.

CCI anti-cancer antibodies can have three types of activity:

1. The ability to injure, kill, or slow growth of tumor cells as a direct effect of binding a drug-induced membrane component
2. The ability to deliver a toxin to which it is conjugated via internalization
3. The ability to recruit the host immune defense system through ADCC & CDC

We believe that such antibodies can be rapidly developed as a new class of treatment to front line therapy of any given cancer.

Based on our work in Conditioned Cell Immunization, Raven is in the process of discovering and protecting this new class of cancer antigens and the antibodies that target them.

Conditioned Cell Immunization has the potential to usher in a new development paradigm for biologics and address the challenge of individualizing drug development and commercialization. Specifically, this novel form of therapy enables rapid preclinical and clinical development because of predetermination of optimal tumor target and induction therapy.

There are several potential benefits that CCI may have for commercial drugs including increased efficacy; extended use into new indications; differentiation from competition; extended patent life and preservation of drug use in a setting of resistance. In addition, CCI offers the potential of new targets for technologies in antibody and ligand engineering. Finally, CCI can lower drug development risk because the new antibody is linked to the validated target of the drug or radiation treated tumor cell and because the synergy of the drug and antibody is identified during the preclinical development phase.