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- Immutep (IMM) is starting a research program as part of its clinical development pipeline of therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases
- The biotechnology company will work with Cardiff University to develop a small molecule anti-LAG treatment for cancer patients
- The aim is to make a treatment that can be delivered orally and at a lower cost than other options being developed
- Intellectual property arising from the program will be jointly owned while IMM has the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise new molecules
- IMM shares are trading in the grey at 65.5 cents at 10.20 am AEST
Immutep (IMM) is commencing a new research program as part of its clinical development pipeline of immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.
The biotechnology company will continue to work with Cardiff University under a collaboration project which began in 2019 with the objective of developing a small molecule anti-LAG treatment for cancer patients.
This research program will draw on the expertise of the University Theme Lead in Immunology in the College of Biomedical Life Sciences Professors Andrew Godkin, as well as Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Andrea Brancale.
“We are excited to progress this project with the world leading scientists at Cardiff University and continue our work to develop novel LAG-3 therapeutics, especially as there are already some exciting early results from our joint effort,” Immutep CEO Marc Voigt said.
“Never has there been a more exciting time to explore new ideas to control the interaction between LAG-3 and MHC class II molecules, following the recent validation of LAG-3 by the pharma industry.”
The objective of the new program is to make a treatment that can be delivered orally and at a lower cost than other options being developed.
Professor Godkin added: “We are delighted to collaborate with Immutep on this important project to develop a small molecule anti- LAG-3 treatment for cancer patients that could offer the convenience of a tablet or capsule, at a fraction of the cost of existing anti-LAG-3 candidates.
Professor Brancale said the collaboration was an opportunity to bring together teams with diverse skill sets.
“We think this cross-functional expertise in chemistry, biology and drug development positions the team very well for a successful collaboration.”
Any intellectual property arising from the research program will be jointly owned by Immutep and the university, while Immutep will retain the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise any new molecules.
IMM shares were trading at 65.5 cents apiece at 10.20 am AEST.
