NEWS Betagenon has signed a licensing and collaboration agreement with British Antisoma. The agreement gives Antisoma rights to some of Betagenon’s pharmaceutical projects for the treatment of cancer.
The substances work through directly activating AMPK, one of the main switches for the cell’s energy balance. Among other things, AMPK reduces the synthesis of lipids and proteins in the cancer cells, which in turn slows down the growth of tumours. Meanwhile, it also blocks a number of harmful signalling pathways in the cancer cell. Small-scale Umeå-based company Betagenon has beaten stiff competition in securing a licensing agreement with pharmaceutical company Antisoma.
“This is proof that the company’s long-term strategy has been focused at the right things from the beginning,” exclaims a pleased Olof Karlsson, CEO of Betagenon.
The agreement is a long-term collaboration, where part of Betagenon’s mission during the coming phase will be to supply Antisoma with follow-up drug candidates. Most of the later-stage pre-clinical evaluations of the substances are now processed by Antisoma. Having significant experience in the clinical phase of cancer treatment, Antisoma will then take on more and more of the work load as the collaboration progresses. “Considering where our company finds itself right now, Antisoma is the perfect partner. We’ll develop and learn a lot from closely following the process of bringing substances to clinical studies,” says Olof Karlsson.
Another reason for Betagenon’s success as a company is that a large part of their funding comes from regional sources, emphasises Karlsson. This has enabled the company to build close and long-term relationships with their financial backers, something he considers necessary for a newly founded biotech company.
A series of small molecules that activate AMPK are now being licensed for treatment of cancer. AMPK is one of the main switches in the cell, and is involved in a number of its signalling pathways. The activation of AMPK in a cancer cell causes a reduction of the cell’s energy consumption. That slows down the cell’s synthetic processes, such as for instance the creation of proteins and lipids that are vital for tumour growth to occur. What is unique about the Betagenon substances is their ability to directly activate AMPK, which produces an immediate and powerful effect.
The agreement with Antisoma has given Betagenon the necessary means as well as the ability to take their substances another step closer to the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. “We are leaving our early development phase behind, and are now beginning a process as a more mature company. We’ve taken a strategic decision of moving forward with one of our drug candidates that has shown good results in diabetic mice. Our goal is to reach the first early tests in humans, a Phase 1 study,” explains Olof Karlsson. The company now faces the extensive regulatory demands and toxicology studies that are necessary in order to test these substances on healthy human volunteers. Meanwhile, Betagenon continues the development of substances for the treatment of a number of diseases and conditions where AMPK is involved.
“This is an area where we will see a lot of progress. That’s why it’s important to use the fact that we are in the forefront when it comes to developing medical substances for these signalling pathways,” concludes Olof Karlsson, CEO of Betagenon.
More information: olof.karlsson@betagenon.com
(Originally published in the Magazine Spets - Biotech entrepreneurship and research in Umeå, No. 2/2008 - Photography by Jan Lindmark.)
Editor: Johan Lagrelius