Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most aggressive cancerous diseases. In most patients, PC is diagnosed at a late stage of the disease and is resistant to current treatments. Therefore, there is an urgent need for developing more effective and less toxic therapeutic agents. As one of the main types of targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of patients with a wide range of cancers, including PC. Alfa Cytology provides comprehensive, reliable and effective mAb discovery, production, optimization, and validation services for PC. With years of experience in therapeutic antibody discovery, in-depth knowledge of PC biology, a team of industrial experienced experts, and advanced research equipment and methods, we are able to provide a one-stop service for your early-stage antibody drug discovery and accelerate your antibody drug development process for targeting PC.
Fig. 1 Characteristics of a successful therapeutic antibody. (Boland, Anna J., et al., 2021)
Overview of mAbs against PC
The therapeutic and diagnostic potential of mAbs against PC has been studied in vitro and in vivo over the past few decades. Results of cell proliferation assays with human pancreatic cancer cell lines, cell line-based xenografts, and patient-derived tumor xenografts have demonstrated the anti-tumor activity of monoclonal antibodies, both as single agents and in combination with cytotoxic agents. There are a number of target antigens of mAbs in PC, such as integrin α3, MUC4, MUC1, EGFR, TROP2, podocalyxin, HER2, glypican-1, cell surface plectin 1, galectin-9, BAG3.
Fig. 2 Antigens targeted by antibodies in patients with pancreatic cancer. (Arias-Pinilla, et al., 2021)
The service offering at Alfa Cytology
We provide one-stop services for lead antibody discovery for the treatment of PC, from antigen preparation (such as peptides and protein molecules), and animal immunoscreening to antibody sequencing. Our services are supported by advanced research equipment and methods, including hybridoma technology, human antibody library, and single B-cell screening. In addition, based on transgenic mouse platforms ( humanized mice are conducted on the hybridoma platform), we can produce mAbs with higher affinity and efficacy and lower immunogenicity.
Our extensive knowledge of monoclonal antibody-based drug development and complex PC biology allows us to help our clients achieve optimal study design and rapid research start-ups. Our mAb optimization platform enables antibody engineering (antibody affinity maturation), antibody humanization, and developability assessment.
To advance the development of mAb-based drugs against PC, we provide preclinical research services for mAbs, which include in vitro pharmacology, in vivo pharmacology, and in vivo safety assessment. This service is based on our various PC models, including PC cell models, PC organoids, genetically engineered mouse models, and transplantation models. The in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities of the antibodies are evaluated in human PC cells and in a specific xenograft nude mouse model, respectively.
Benefits of our services
- More than ten years of experience in antibody-based drug development
- Professional team of scientists and in-depth knowledge of PC biology
- Customized service to customer satisfaction
- Our customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day from Monday to Sunday
Your questions and comments are important to us. Please feel free to contact us and let us know what you are trying to achieve. Our team of experts will contact you within one business day to discuss your needs.
References
- Boland, Anna J., et al. "Antibody therapy in pancreatic cancer: mAb-ye we're onto something?." Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Reviews on Cancer 1876.1 (2021): 188557.
- Arias-Pinilla, Gustavo A., and Helmout Modjtahedi. "Therapeutic application of monoclonal antibodies in pancreatic cancer: advances, challenges and future opportunities." Cancers 13.8 (2021): 1781.
- Arias-Pinilla, Gustavo A., et al. "Development and application of two novel monoclonal antibodies against overexpressed CD26 and integrin α3 in human pancreatic cancer." Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 1-13.