27th July, 2010 :
ProtAffin AG, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of biopharmaceutical products that act by targeting cell-surface glycan structures, announced it has signed a manufacturing contract with
CMC Biologics’ Danish operations, located in Copenhagen, Denmark for manufacture of its lead product PA401 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The contract will cover manufacture and supply of PA401 for preclinical development and early clinical development in COPD and related respiratory indications. PA401 is a glycan-binding decoy protein based on human chemokine IL-8 (CXCL8), which has shown potent anti-inflammatory activity in both chronic and acute preclinical models of lung inflammation. A composition of matter patent covering PA401 has been granted in the USA and the EU.
ProtAffin’s novel class of biopharmaceutical products are first-in-class engineered versions of human proteins which bind to cell surface glycans (sugars) to affect their biological activity. Specific cell surface glycans underlie inflammatory processes in several diseases including COPD, and represent a rich and relatively under-investigated class of potential drug targets for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. ProtAffin’s approach is entirely innovative and opens up glycans as druggable targets through the use of its CellJammer® discovery technology...
[PDF] ProtAffin's Press Release -
