Polyethylene glycol (PEG; ) is a polyether compound derived from petroleum with many applications, from industrial manufacturing to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), depending on its molecular weight. The structure of PEG is commonly expressed as H−(O−CH2−CH2)n−OH.
Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of therapies for the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. Biogen operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Pegylated interferon alfa-2b is a drug used to treat melanoma, as an adjuvant therapy to surgery. Also used to treat hepatitis C, it is no longer recommended due to poor efficacy and adverse side-effects. Subcutaneous injection is the preferred delivery method.
Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) is a class of medication that includes three different drugs as of 2012:
PEGylation is the process of both covalent and non-covalent attachment or amalgamation of polyethylene glycol polymer chains to molecules and macrostructures, such as a drug, therapeutic protein or vesicle, which is then described as PEGylated. PEGylation affects the resulting derivatives or aggregates interactions, which typically slows down their coalescence and degradation as well as elimination in vivo.
Leronlimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeted against the CCR5 receptor found on T lymphocytes of the human immune system. It is being investigated as a potential therapy in the treatment of COVID-19, triple negative breast cancer, and HIV infection. The United States Food and Drug Administration has designated PRO 140 for fast-track approval. In February 2008, the drug entered Phase 2 clinical trials and a phase 3 trial was begun in 2015. In February 2018, Cytodyn Inc reported that the primary endpoint had been achieved in the PRO 140 pivotal combination therapy trial in HIV infection. In 2020 CytoDyn submitted a fast-track biologics license application for treatment of CCR5-tropic HIV-1 Infection.
Allozyne is a clinical stage biotechnology company headquartered in Seattle's biotech and high tech innovation corridor. Allozyne was founded in 2005 by California Institute of Technology researchers, and was incubated by Accelerator Corporation. Its lead product candidate, AZ01, is a long acting interferon beta for the treatment of the relapsing remitting form of multiple sclerosis, a chronic degenerative disease characterized by demyelination of nerve fibers leading to severe nerve damage and increasing disability. Multiple sclerosis is estimated to affect 400,000 individuals in the US alone and 2.5 million worldwide. AZ01 is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials in the US. Preclinical data indicates that AZ01 has the potential to be dosed once monthly compared to the current standard of care dosed anywhere from once daily to once per week.
Santaris Pharma A/S was a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2003 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company also had a branch in San Diego, California that opened in 2009. Created by a merger between Cureon and Pantheco, Santaris developed RNA-targeted medicines using a Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform and Drug Development Engine.
Protalix BioTherapeutics is an Israeli pharmaceutical company that manufactures a plant-based enzyme, taliglucerase alfa, which has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of Gaucher disease.
Demcizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody which is used to treat patients with pancreatic cancer or non-small cell lung cancer. Demcizumab has completed phase 1 trials and is currently undergoing phase 2 trials. Demcizumab was developed by OncoMed Pharmaceuticals in collaboration with Celgene.
Targeted molecular therapy for neuroblastoma involves treatment aimed at molecular targets that have a unique expression in this form of cancer. Neuroblastoma, the second most common pediatric malignant tumor, often involves treatment through intensive chemotherapy. A number of molecular targets have been identified for the treatment of high-risk forms of this disease. Aiming treatment in this way provides a more selective way to treat the disease, decreasing the risk for toxicities that are associated with the typical treatment regimen. Treatment using these targets can supplement or replace some of the intensive chemotherapy that is used for neuroblastoma. These molecular targets of this disease include GD2, ALK, and CD133. GD2 is a target of immunotherapy, and is the most fully developed of these treatment methods, but is also associated with toxicities. ALK has more recently been discovered, and drugs in development for this target are proving to be successful in neuroblastoma treatment. The role of CD133 in neuroblastoma has also been more recently discovered and is an effective target for treatment of this disease.
Vantictumab is a human IgG2 monoclonal antibody designed for the treatment of cancer.
Faldaprevir was an experimental drug for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV). It was being developed by Boehringer-Ingelheim and reached Phase III clinical trials in 2011. Boehringer announced in 2014 that it would not pursue approval of the drug any more because of better HCV treatments having become available.
Deleobuvir was an experimental drug for the treatment of hepatitis C. It was being developed by Boehringer Ingelheim. It is a non-nucleoside hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase inhibitor. Deleobuvir was tested in combination regimens with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, and in interferon-free regimens with other direct-acting antiviral agents including faldaprevir.
Seagen Inc. is an American biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative, empowered monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The company, headquartered in Bothell, Washington, is the industry leader in antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs, a technology designed to harness the targeting ability of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells. Antibody-drug conjugates are intended to spare non-targeted cells and thus reduce many of the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy, while potentially enhancing antitumor activity.
Celltrion, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Incheon, South Korea. Celltrion Healthcare conducts worldwide marketing, sales, and distribution of biological medicines developed by Celltrion. Celltrion's founder, Seo Jung-jin, is the richest person in South Korea.
MM-151 is an oligoclonal mixture of fully human monoclonal antibodies, which binds multiple parts of the EGFR molecule It has started clinical trials in patients with RAS wild-type colorectal cancers (CRCs) that were resistant to other anti-EGFR therapies. It is intended to overcome the problem of cancers becoming resistant to monoclonal antibody therapies.
Narlaprevir, is an inhibitor of NS3/4A serine protease, intended for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C caused by genotype 1 virus in combination with other antiviral drugs.
Halozyme Therapeutics is an American biotechnology company. It develops oncology therapies designed to target the tumor microenvironment.
Cytokines are polypeptides or glycoproteins that help immune cells communicate to each other to induce proliferation, activation, differentiation, and inflammatory or anti-inflammatory signals in various cell types. Studies utilizing cytokines for antitumor therapies has increased significantly since 2000, and different cytokines provide unique antitumor activities. Cytokines hinder tumor cell development mostly through antiproliferative or proapoptotic pathways but can also interrupt development indirectly by eliciting immune cells to have cytotoxic effects against tumor cells. Even though there are FDA-approved cytokine therapies, there are two main challenges associated with cytokine delivery. The first is that cytokines have a short half-life, so frequent administration of high doses is required for therapeutic effect. The second is that systemic toxicity could occur if the cytokines delivered cause an intense immune response, known as a cytokine storm.
