CQDM Awards $500,000 to Develop FUT8 Inhibitors for Enhanced Cancer Antibody Therapies
核心洞察
Concordia University (搜索)'s David Kwan receives $500,000 CQDM (搜索) funding to lead a research partnership with Paraza Pharma (搜索) and GlycoSyn (搜索) aimed at improving antibody-based cancer (搜索) treatments.
The project targets FUT8 (搜索), an enzyme that adds sugar modifications to antibodies during manufacturing, which dampens immune response effectiveness against cancer (搜索) cells.
Researchers will use high-throughput robotics to screen tens of thousands of small molecules to identify FUT8 (搜索) inhibitors that could enhance cancer (搜索) therapeutic potency.
Concordia University (搜索) biochemist David Kwan has secured $500,000 in funding from the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM (搜索)) to lead a collaborative research initiative focused on enhancing the effectiveness of antibody-based cancer (搜索) therapies. The project unites Concordia University, Montreal-based Paraza Pharma (搜索), and New Zealand-based GlycoSyn (搜索) in an effort to improve how antibody drugs (搜索) trigger immune responses against cancer cells.
Targeting Manufacturing-Related Immune Suppression
Antibody drugs (搜索) represent a critical class of cancer (搜索) treatments that function by recognizing specific markers on cancer cells and signaling the immune system to eliminate them. However, these therapeutic antibodies are manufactured using living cells, which can introduce chemical modifications that potentially reduce drug potency.
The research team is specifically targeting FUT8 (搜索), an enzyme present in production cells that adds a particular sugar tag known to dampen immune response. "If we can stop the cells from putting this modification on the antibody, the resulting drug can generate a stronger immune response," Kwan explains.
High-Throughput Screening Approach
The project leverages advanced high-throughput robotics at Concordia's Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, including the Foundry platform, to screen tens of thousands of small molecules. The primary objective is to identify compounds capable of blocking FUT8 (搜索) activity during antibody manufacturing processes, enabling companies to produce more effective cancer (搜索) therapeutics.
Commercial Development Strategy
Following the identification of promising FUT8 (搜索) inhibitors, Kwan's team will collaborate with Paraza Pharma (搜索) on continued development and optimization efforts. GlycoSyn (搜索) will contribute by validating the compounds for use in large-scale glycoprotein production and supporting the synthesis required for commercial applications.
"The hope is that this becomes a tool the biopharmaceutical industry can use to produce more effective anti-cancer (搜索) antibody drugs (搜索)," Kwan states. The partnership was facilitated by CQDM (搜索), which supports collaborative research initiatives within the biopharmaceutical sector.