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GNBIO-Grunnleggende næringsrettet bioteknologi

Selection and characterization of novel cancer specific antibodies – utilization in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches

Awarded: NOK 4.0 mill.

Project Number:

164605

Application Type:

Project Period:

2005 - 2010

Subject Fields:

Objective: The main purpose is to identify and characterize novel breast cancer specific antibodies. Interesting candidates will be thoroughly characterized for their specificity. Fulfilling the specificity criteria their potential as diagnostic or progno stic markers will be investigated. Finally, the possibility of using the antibodies either directly as blocking antibodies or for therapeutic targeting of cancer will be evaluated. R&D challenges: Despite considerable progress in conventional cancer th erapy the last decades it is still a great demand for more efficient and specific therapeutic alternatives. The major obstacle for further progress in the antibody-based cancer therapy is the limited availability of specific cancer targets and the limitat ion of monoclonal (mouse) antibody. For this reason we have developed the Cell-Based Antibody Selection (CBAS) system, which is an integrated functional screening approach for discovery of human antibodies and cognate targets. Antibodies directed against antigens with interesting expression profile will undergo an antibody engineering step to optimize binding affinity and specificity, and the identity of the corresponding antigen will be sought identified. To further examine the potential as diagnostic or prognostic markers the antibodies will be coated to immunomagnetic- or fluorescently labelled latex particles and subsequently used for micrometastases detection. For therapeutic purposes the distribution and pharmacokinetics of promising antibody cand idates will be examined, and the potential as function blocking antibodies will be investigated. The antibodies will also be examined for their potential in targeted therapy with immunotoxins. Applications: Identification of cancer specific antigens is of fundamental importance not only for improvements in the area of targeted cancer therapy, but also for the development of better methods for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of cancer patients.

Funding scheme:

GNBIO-Grunnleggende næringsrettet bioteknologi