Business
ALX Oncology Strengthens Immuno-Oncology Pipeline with Acquisition of ScalmiBio
Acquisition adds novel and proprietary SHIELD platform for conditional activation of antibodies in tumor microenvironment and proprietary cytotoxic payloads
About this update from Alx Oncology Holdings Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Acquisition adds novel and proprietary SHIELD platform for conditional activation of antibodies in tumor microenvironment and proprietary cytotoxic payloads for antibody drug conjugatesExpands ALX Oncology’s pipeline of drug candidates based on expertise in protein engineering and oncology SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (“ALX Oncology”) (Nasdaq: ALXO), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, and ScalmiBio, Inc. (“ScalmiBio”) announced today that ALX Oncology has acquired ScalmiBio. ALX Oncology further expands its pipeline with plans to develop new anti-cancer drug candidates based on ScalmiBio’s platform; these new molecules will be designed to address unmet cancer patient needs as stand-alone therapeutics and in combination with ALX Oncology’s lead product candidate, evorpacept, a next-generation CD47 blocker designed to leverage the immune activation of broadly used anti-cancer agents through combination strategies. “ALX Oncology was founded to address limitations of CD47 blockade through protein engineering,” said Jaume Pons, Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ALX Oncology. “ScalmiBio’s universal SHIELD technology allows us to expand our pipeline and bring more treatment options to patients. We are building on our foundational strength of utilizing protein engineering to more broadly address limitations of other clinically and commercially validated anti-cancer targets through the design of conditionally activated antibodies and novel antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs.” ScalmiBio’s SHIELD technology is designed to minimize interaction of an antibody therapeutic with normal tissue and maximize its target binding capability within tumor microenvironment. Many cancer targets are relatively abundant in cancer cells but also expressed in normal cells leading to on-target, off-tumor toxicities that limit patient access to potentially life changing treatments. ScalmiBio’s conditional activation technology aims to increase therapeutic index by minimizing dose limiting toxicities of existing checkpoint inhibitors and other targeted anti-cancer biologics as well as enable the design of ADCs with higher drug-to-antibody ratios for improved anti-cancer activity. ALX Oncology has also acquired ScalmiBio’s proprietary cytotoxic payloads for the development o...