OncoMed Has 'Wnt' in its Sails

OncoMed Has 'Wnt' in its Sails; Bayer Deal Adds $40M Up Front by Jennifer Boggs, Bioworld, June 18, 2010. Excerpts:

[OncoMed's] latest accomplishment is another early stage deal, this time with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, to develop drugs targeting the Wnt signaling pathway. It's an agreement that brings $40 million up front, with the potential for more than $1 billion in future milestones.

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The Wnt pathway is believed to be a key target in halting cancer stem cell activity. But only a few other firms - Avalon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now part of Clinical Data Inc.) and 2008 start-up Wintherix LLC, for example - have entered that space, largely because Wnt is not an easily druggable target.

News release from Bayer: Bayer Schering Pharma and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Enter Strategic Alliance to Develop Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutics, June 17, 2010. Excerpt:

Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany, and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced a global strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize novel anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics targeting the Wnt signaling pathway. Cancer stem cells are a subset of tumor cells believed to play a significant role in the establishment, metastasis and recurrence of cancer and agents targeting the Wnt pathway have the potential to be developed as pan-tumor drugs.

Comment: The Bayer-OncoMed strategic alliance has received attention via the social media. See, for example, the results of this FriendFeed search.

Antitumor activity of anti-DLL4 antibodies

Data Published in Cell Stem Cell Demonstrates Potent Anti-Cancer Activity for OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Lead Antibody, Health Informer, August 7, 2009. Subtitle: Targeting Cancer Stem Cells Dramatically Reduces Tumor Growth and Recurrence in Preclinical Models. First paragraph:

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the publication in Cell Stem Cell of data demonstrating potent anti-cancer activity in colon and breast cancer models for the company’s first product candidate, OMP-21M18, underlining the therapeutic potential of targeting cancer stem cells to treat solid tumors. OMP-21M18 is currently in Phase 1 clinical testing.

The publication: DLL4 Blockade Inhibits Tumor Growth and Reduces Tumor-Initiating Cell Frequency by Timothy Hoey and 14 co-authors, including Michael F Clarke, John Lewicki and Austin Gurney, Cell Stem Cell 2009(Aug 7); 5(2): 168-77. [PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry].[Full text of this "Featured Article", via Gratis OA][Full text PDF].

Examples of other links to the News Release: [OncoMed.com (PDF)][Medical News Today][Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News].

OncoMed press release

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals press release, November 4, 2008 [PDF]. Excerpt:

OncoMed's lead anti-cancer stem cell antibody, OMP-21M18, entered human clinical studies earlier this year with the initiation of a Phase I trial in patients with advanced solid tumors. OMP-21M18 targets a major cancer stem cell pathway, and is a part of OncoMed's collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. The Phase I clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety of escalating doses of OMP-21M18 in patients with solid tumors who have received previous treatment. Pharmacokinetics and initial indications of efficacy will also be assessed. OMP-21M18 is the first anti-cancer stem cell antibody against this novel target critical to cancer stem cells growth and development.

For news items about this press release, see, for example: "OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Completes Series B Financing: Lead Cancer Stem Cell Product Candidate Enters Clinical Trials", November 4, 2008 in Yahoo! Finance and The Earth Times. See also: OncoMed raises $93M in add-on funding, Lisa Sibley, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, November 4, 2008.