Under the terms of the agreement, the Swiss CDMO will manufacture the drug’s active ingredient at its cGMP facility in Guangzhou, China. The target completion date for the finished drug product is the fourth quarter of 2022, when it will be used in Australian-based clinical trials.

KappaMab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to a cell surface target only found on myeloma cancer cells. This binding enables the immune system to respond and kill the myceloma cells, while sparing the healthy plasma cells. To date, KappaMab has been tested in three clinical trials. 

“Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematological cancer worldwide, with an estimated 32,000 new cases and over 12,500 deaths annually in the US alone (2019), and a European incidence roughly equivalent,” said HaemaLogiX chairman and CEO Bryce Carmine. “The incurable nature of multiple myeloma makes it necessary to expand treatment options available to patients. We look forward to taking KappaMab back into the clinic alongside standard of care, and this Lonza agreement is an important step toward providing the drug product for our upcoming trial.”

Last September, the Sydney-based biotech secured $10 million in new capital to advance the development of KappaMab.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist