ProMIS Working to Move Antibody Treatment for Alzheimer’s into Clinical Trials

ProMIS Neurosciences announced plans to initiate the development of its lead antibody candidate, PMN310, as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The investigational therapy is expected to enter clinical Phase 1 trials in 2019.

PMN310 is a humanized antibody that attacks only toxic forms of the amyloid beta protein linked to Alzheimer’s, not its normal forms.

Preclinical studies involving both human brain cells in a lab and mice have shown that researchers should be able to increase doses of PMN310 in clinical trials without harming patients, a possibility that’s unlikely in human studies of other therapies.

Namely, scientists at ProMIS compared PMN310’s performance with that of other antibodies targeting amyloid beta, the company reported earlier this year. They included Eli Lilly’s solanezumab, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer’s bapineuzumab, and Biogen’s aducanumab. (Bapineuzumab’s production has since been discontinued.)

Selexis will manufacture the investigational treatment using its proprietary Selexis SUREtechnology Platform, a technology that it says will ensure a fast, stable and cost-effective production of antibodies generated in the lab using synthetic genes.

According to Selexis, this platform improves the way that mammalian cells are used in the discovery, development, and manufacturing of any recombinant protein drug: human proteins produced through genetic engineering rather than isolated from tissue samples.

“We recently completed successful affinity maturation of PMN310, which in addition to its unique and highly selective binding profile offers increased opportunity for best in class therapy for Alzheimer’s disease,” Elliot Goldstein, ProMIS’ president and CEO said in a press release. “We are now initiating the manufacturing process with Selexis’ proprietary, high-performance technology platform for cell line development.”

“We believe our best-in-class technology can help propel forward this best-in-class therapeutic candidate,” said Yemi Onakunle, PhD, Selexis’ vice president.

ProMIS is developing two other lead antibodies, called PMN330 and PMN350, as potential therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. They are engineered against the toxic forms of amyloid beta, but all three products bind to different regions of this protein.