Clinical-stage company OncoMed Pharmaceuticals has announced the issuance of US patent for methods of treating cancer with its antibody vantictumab (OMP-18R5) through 2029.
Targeting and inhibiting the Wnt pathway, Vantictumab was originally identified at OncoMed from the HuCAL GOLD antibody library by binding to the Frizzled-7 receptor and was later determined by OncoMed to bind a novel epitope conserved across five different Frizzled receptors.
Broad anti-cancer stem cell and anti-tumor activity was demonstrated by Vantictumab in patient-derived xenograft models, while being evaluated in a Phase I trial, in which early signs of single-agent activity was provided in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.
OncoMed chief executive officer Paul Hastings said the company's new patent, together with its composition-of-matter patent, provides key coverage for vantictumab.
"The issuance of this patent also further validates the novelty of this promising antibody and the innovative nature of OncoMed's ongoing discovery programs, which have not only produced vantictumab, but also four other anti-CSC agents currently in clinical trials," Hastings added.