Leuven's ThromboGenics, Lund's BioInvent get €2M for anti-angiogenesis

BioInvent International AB of Lund, Sweden and ThromboGenics NV of Leuven, Belgium have been awarded a €2 million grant from the European Union for the joint development of a new class of anti-angiogenesis agents based on antibodies against placental growth factor (PlGF).

The grant will continue research begun by the two companies in 2004 as part of a strategic collaboration involving four academic groups from Belgium, Germany and the UK. These are the University of Leuven’s VIB Center for Transgene Technology and Gene Therapy, and its Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology; the University of Berlin; and Cardiff University.

The money will pay for two years of further development of TB-403, an antibody-based product for treating tumours, inflammation and eye disease. TB-403 has shown good inhibition of PlGF-associated angiogenesis and tumour growth in preclinical models, and preclinical toxicology studies have begun.

The PlGF growth factor is secreted by tumours and is specifically expressed in cancer and chronic inflammatory conditions. It affects the formation of new blood vessels in tissue that are under stress. PlGF does not seem to affect normal, physiological angiogenesis, unlike other treatments already on the market. So the inhibition of PlGF is expected to have fewer side effects than existing anti-VEGF agents, but will still have the desired effect on various diseases.