Actinium strikes deal with IBA for manufacture of leukemia drug therapy
IBA Molecular announced today that the company will spearhead development and manufacture of Actinium Pharmaceuticals’ radioimmunotherapy for acute and refractory myeloid leukemia patients who need bone marrow transplants.
The partnership is focused on Actinium’s drug, Iomab-B, going into phase III clinical trials. The company, headquartered in New York City, is calling on IBA to make the drug FDA-approval worthy while preparing it for potential manufacture. Once approved, IBA will lead Iomab-B through product commercialization.
“We are pleased to have been selected by Actinium to further assist with the development of Iomab-B,” said IBA president Lee Karras in a press release. “IBA Molecular has a proven track record of radiopharmaceutical development and manufacturing and we look forward to adding this important product to our manufacturing portfolio.”
Iomab-B marries the radioisotope Iodine-131 with a novel murine monocloncal antibody called BC8, which was developed at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. BC8 homes in on a pan-leukocytic antigen called CD45, which could be ideal as a biomarker for white blood cells in patients preparing for bone marrow transplant, otherwise known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
“As we are progressing with clinical development of this important drug candidate, we are working on manufacturing development at the same time,” said Kaushik J. Dave, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Actinium Pharmaceuticals. “We want to ensure the highest quality and consistency of our drug candidate and meet regulatory requirements for successful clearance and commercialization.”
This targeted treatment could be developed for a number of blood cancers beyond acute myeloid leukemia, such as multiple myeloma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease and Non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Further study and regulatory approval are required before this therapy could be made available to the general public.