In medical advancements, the pharmaceutical sector has undeniably achieved remarkable strides in combatting blood and lymphatic cancers. Nevertheless, tackling solid tumours, prevalent in organs such as the liver, pancreas, colon, and stomach, persists as a formidable challenge.
While recent breakthroughs, such as immunotherapies and antibody-drug conjugates featuring antibodies equipped with cytotoxic agents, exhibit potential, their utility remains confined to specific patient demographics and tumour classifications. This is why Albatroz Therapeutics aims to pioneer therapies tailored to impede the proliferation of solid tumours, aiming to provide a wide array of cancer patients with tangible relief and hope for improved outcomes.
“We have identified a novel target essential to the growth and spread of a broad range of solid tumours. Based on this discovery, we are developing therapeutic antibodies that block this target, potentially transforming cancer treatment for many individuals,” explains Guy Heathers, Chief Business Officer of Albatroz Therapeutics, in an email to e27.
The company’s groundbreaking research began in the laboratories of Albatroz co-founder Fred Bard during his tenure as a Senior Principal Investigator at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) within Singapore’s A*Star organisation. Bard unearthed a novel target pivotal in tumour proliferation and metastasis through meticulous study.
Together with Heathers, they established Albatroz Therapeutics, securing exclusive rights to this groundbreaking technology to develop therapeutic antibodies designed to thwart the target’s activity. The co-founders created a bespoke screening platform to sift through many antibody candidates, seeking out the most potent contenders.
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After identifying the premier antibody, Albatroz’s focus shifted to a comprehensive assessment across a spectrum of solid tumour models in laboratory settings and living organisms. This intensive evaluation constitutes a crucial preliminary phase before advancing to pre-clinical studies, a requisite step towards obtaining approval for clinical trials.
Albatroz also diverted resources towards developing Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), a class of targeted therapeutic agents poised to bolster the efficacy of our antibodies in eradicating cancerous cells.
“Our data shows that our novel target is characteristic to a large proportion of common cancers, such as breast, colon, liver, pancreas and lung cancers. While it is still premature for us to elaborate on the exact clinical applications of our therapies, we hope many patients suffering from these cancers could use our drugs when they are fully and safely developed,” says Heathers.
The future of antibody therapies
Despite its short history, Albatroz has been awarded several accolades, including the inaugural Amgen Golden Ticket award in 2023, organised by Amgen and NSG BioLabs, as part of the initiative to support up-and-coming biotech startups in Singapore.
Albatroz sees their victory as a springboard that propels the company forward within the burgeoning biotech ecosystem in Singapore.
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“Winning the award granted us access to a fully equipped laboratory at NSG BioLabs, the leading biotech incubator in Singapore, located at Biopolis in the heart of the biotech ecosystem. It largely eliminated a significant financial hurdle for early-stage startups. Even more importantly, the Golden Ticket connected Albatroz to Amgen’s network of scientific and business leaders,” Heathers says.
“This has been an excellent award for increasing the visibility and credibility of Albatroz and has led to a number of high-profile presentations and appearances by our company at international conferences. This mentorship and access to industry expertise proved invaluable for our young company, accelerating their research and development efforts.”
Run by a team of 15 in Singapore, Albatroz has closed a seed funding round of US$3 million from Outram Bio and SEEDS Capital in early 2023.
“We are very excited about the potential of our antibody therapies and remain dedicated to advancing them towards clinical development. We hope to raise another round of funding towards the end of the year to conduct development work further, grow our expert team and operations, and bring our therapeutic antibodies closer to the market launch,” Heathers closes.
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Image Credit: Albatroz Therapuetics
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