ALOPEXX Oncology

Alopexx Oncology has licensed DI-Leu16-IL2 from Provenance Therapeutics.  DI-Leu16-IL2 is an immune therapeutic, a type of medication that fights cancer by enlisting the body’s own immune system and is a fusion of two known cancer therapeutics (an anti-CD20 antibody and the cytokine IL2) using a well-developed, proprietary technology that creates an effect that is far more powerful than administering those therapeutics individually or in combination. An IND is in the process of being prepared and it is planned to enter clinical trials in 4Q12.

In vivo activity against NHL in SCID mice. . At 33 days, all untreated mice had died. Those treated with high doses of Rituxan had 100% mortality in 85 days. Treating with a combination of Rituxan (an antibody) and IL-2 (a cytokine) improved outcomes, but could not even approximate the effectiveness of DI-Leu16-IL2, an immunocytokine fusion protein. The SCID mice treated with Rituxan + IL-2 had initially better results than Rituxan alone, but again most had succumbed to disease by day 85. In marked contrast, 100% of the SCID mice treated with DI-Leu16-IL2 survived for the entire test period (up to day 113-not shown), implying a theoretical cure of the NHL.