Recipharm to make clinical trial cancer candidate for Kancera
KAND567 was originally developed by AstraZeneca more than 10 years ago, but in 2016 Swedish pharma firm Kancera completed the transfer of the candidate’s production know-how and data and commenced a risk-sharing partnership with Acturum Life Science to develop the product against pancreatic cancer.
And fellow Sweden-based firm Recipharm says it has been contracted to develop and manufacture the candidate for upcoming clinical trials from its site in Solna.
“We think that we will be able to honour this agreement using our current facilities and equipment,” Torkel Gren, general manager at the site, told this publication. “We have the staff needed in place and we are not planning additional hires.”
The contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) will develop the preparation required for effective release of KAND567 from the capsules, as well as manufacturing the pharmaceutical product.
Financial details of the collaboration were not divulged.
KAND567 is an antagonist of the Fractalkine receptor CX3CR1 intended to block the Fractalkine system and stop the spreading of tumours.
Kancera believes such a cancer treatment has the potential to be a significantly better anti-cancer drug compared to an antibody that captures Fractalkine due to the relative ease of a small molecule’s ability to penetrate and influence a solid tumour, while being cheaper to produce than an antibody.
AstraZeneca retains the rights to develop Fractalkine inhibitors against respiratory diseases.
