The era of change
In the past two decades, the development of human genetics, cancer genomics, stem cell biology, bioinformatics and systems biology has laid the foundation for the development of innovative therapies. The research of human biology has made an unprecedented leap. In the future, not only in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry, but also in the fields of protein engineering, antibody drug conjugation, bispecific and immunotherapy.
Learn about the technologies and platforms we use to discover and develop innovative drugs.
Protein technology
One way to improve the efficacy potential of antibodies is to combine or "combine" them with small molecule drugs, so as to improve the ability of antibodies to specific antigens; the other way is to use technology to generate bispecific antibodies (also known as dual variable domain [DVD] antibodies) against two antigens.
Bispecific
Our dual specificity platform technology has a promising future. In the past, this platform was called the DVD platform. In fact, this platform can produce a variety of different forms of dual specificity, DVD is only a small part of it. These bispecific forms have a wide range of protein binding and biological characteristics.
In the field of tumor, our bispecific platform is not only a simple combination of treatment options, but also provides a new way for biotechnology research and development. For example, we are studying how to enhance the performance of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) using bispecific methods. In the preclinical system, we can prove that the bispecific antibody drugs combined with two different sites under the same molecular target can better enter the cancer cells, and the effect is better than the traditional ADC. Such drugs can produce a greater toxic load, thereby improving effectiveness.
Similarly, bispecific drugs combining two molecular targets of the same cancer cell can be used to enhance tumor specificity, which can help us to find targets partially expressed in normal tissues. We can use bispecific platform to create many different protein structures, and ultimately develop biological agents with different mechanisms of action.
Innovative and targeted drug delivery
We are exploring a variety of more accurate and effective new drug delivery routes. From reducing the impact of chemotherapy on healthy cells to opening up new treatment methods for neurodegenerative diseases, our research on innovative and targeted drug delivery routes is changing the way of disease treatment.
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs)
ADC is a mature technology platform, which can directly transport drugs to the target cells where the antibody needs precise effect.
ADC has a highly effective cytotoxin, which is so potent that ADC cannot comply with systemic administration. Only when the high-efficiency cytotoxin is coupled with monoclonal antibody, can it directly reach cancer cells and retain normal tissues. The concept behind ADC is not new, but in recent years, the development of target recognition, antibody engineering, bonding chemistry and toxin technology makes ADC become a promising platform.
Based on our advantages in the development of highly specific monoclonal antibodies and our experience in small molecule chemical analysis, ADC has become a focus area of research and development of EBV.
Targeting tumor stem cells
Cancer stem cells are the source of cancer. These cells cause and maintain tumor growth, and they are more resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy than tumor cells. As a kind of metastatic tumor cells, tumor stem cells are the main culprit of cancer all over the body.
Through a project initiated by stemcentrx, our therapy aims to target cancer stem cells and release a powerful drug to kill them. We believe that targeting and eliminating cancer stem cells can prolong the survival of patients.
Nanoparticles and protein capsules
The cellular system of transporting blood to the brain and spinal cord is complex, and it is difficult for biological drugs to penetrate. Therefore, we explore a new method to penetrate the blood-brain barrier using nanoparticles and protein capsules. These innovative drugs may lead the development of new drugs for brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Control the power of human body
With the deep understanding of human biology, we can use our own mechanism to open up new ways to fight against diseases. In recent years, research on cancer and immune-mediated diseases, two important diseases, is showing us the feasibility of finding new disease solutions from the inside of the human body.
Immunooncology and immunotherapy
In the field of oncology, we want to activate the immune system to attack tumors; in the field of immune diseases, we want to reduce its activity to prevent the injury of normal tissues and avoid harm to human body. The key to the treatment of both diseases is immunotherapy.
For example, the battle between the immune system and tumors always exists. Tumor uses various mechanisms to avoid the destruction of immune cells, one of which is to act on the checkpoint receptor of immune cells. Checkpoint molecules are key switches for immune cells, and their activation blocks the immune response to targets identified as "foreign bodies" in the human body. If the tumor activates these checkpoints, it will make it difficult for immune cells to recognize the tumor that needs to be attacked, so as to play an inhibitory role. In recent years, the biggest breakthrough in immunotherapy is that scientists have found that destroying these checkpoint receptors can activate immune cells to cause anti-tumor reactions.
The antitumor activity of checkpoint inhibitors tells us that tumors can be controlled by the immune system, but checkpoint block is only one way. Over the years, we have been looking at various pathways beyond checkpoint inhibitors.
Study on intestinal microflora
In recent years, people pay more and more attention to the existence of intestinal microflora. Bacteria and microbes in the gastrointestinal tract play an important role, such as digestion, vitamin production, easy recombination of bacteria to achieve other functions, which are changing the way researchers treat serious diseases. We cooperated with synlogic to study intestinal microflora and develop new drugs for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Pharmaceutical Science
The effectiveness of drugs can not be separated from efficient production and delivery. We are looking for new ways to ensure that drugs are produced at the highest quality and delivered safely to patients.
Production of biological agents
The key to measuring the success of biological preparations is their reproducibility. With the help of precise cell line development, cell culture production and quality control, we have overcome the complex problems of macromolecular production and achieved the consistency of drug efficacy. Based on the first fully humanized monoclonal antibody that has been developed, we have accumulated professional experience in the field of biological preparations. At present, our biological preparation production team is the leader in this field, providing scientific support for all aspects of production. Our production team cooperates with the R & D department and collaborative production customers to expand the scale of production and transfer the products to the commercial production base, eliminate technical faults by means of product production or laboratory testing, identify and carry out process improvement to improve the output or production capacity. We support chemical and fermentation APIs, sterile and non sterile drugs, analytical test methods and instruments as drivers for optimizing drug release.
Meltrex technology, an innovative pharmaceutical formulation
Drug can't be dissolved in water and can't be absorbed by human body, which is a common problem in drug development. We have found a new method to apply the hot melt extrusion technology, which has been used in the industrial environment for centuries, to drug research and development, opening up the possibility of new drug formulations for the treatment of various diseases from virus infection to cancer.