Public Funding for Biomoti Limited

"Cancer is the second leading cause of global mortality with over 8,000,000 deaths worldwide (WHO, 2015) and 163,444 in the UK (CRUK, 2014). There continues to be large unmet clinical need for patients with certain cancers such as ovarian where median survival is only 3 years. These survival rates have not changed for the past 3 decades. BioMoti, in a new alliance with Pharmidex and the CPI, is developing the Oncojan(tm) platform to overcome current limitations. Oncojans(tm) are a new class of precision sustained therapeutics that are loaded in biodegradable microparticles and target CD95L on tumours. CD95L is overexpressed on cells of the tumour bulk and vasculature (but not on healthy tissue) where it promotes proliferation, metastasis and immune evasion. BMT101 is the Oncojan(tm) based lead candidate that is the chemotherapy loaded into biodegradable microparticles surface modified with CD95R to target CD95L. This proposal aims to build on exciting pilot data showing that BMT101 results in remarkable preclinical activity; 65-fold reduction in tumour burden, doubling of median survival and loss of toxicity compared to the Taxol(r) standard-of-care chemotherapy in ovarian cancer. One major barrier to progressing the technology to a successful commercial outcome is the ability to controllably manufacture microparticles with desirable attributes at a meaningful scale. This includes reliably producing microparticles with high paclitaxel loadings at a specific and monodisperse size. For this project, we will study the feasibility of developing a scalable protocol for the reproducible manufacture of BMT101 formulation with desirable attributes using microfluidics technology. We will verify that produced formulations maintain high efficacy in vitro and in vivo as seen in early pilot studies. The aim is to provide a clear route for the future manufacture of regulatory compliant material for clinical trials. Positive project outcomes will enable commercial investment to support future formal development of BMT101 for the benefit of patients in the highly unmet ovarian cancer indication. It is likely the same formulation could be used in further poorly treated indications such as triple negative breast or oesophageal cancer."

Cancer is the second leading cause of global mortality with over 8,000,000 deaths worldwide (WHO, 2015) and 163,444 in the UK (CRUK, 2014). Interventions that leverage the immune system, including antibodies and cell-based therapies, promise to revolutionise cancer treatment with cures seen in previously untreatable patients. However, many obstacles remain such as difficulties penetrating solid tumours, depleted immunity, serious side effects, logistics and high costs. Consequently, there is large unmet clinical need for patients with certain cancers, especially ovarian and pancreatic, where improvement in 5-year survival rates has been very limited. BioMoti, in a new alliance with Pharmidex, is developing the Oncojan™ platform to overcome current limitations. Oncojans™ are a new class of precision sustained therapeutics that target CD95L on tumours. CD95L is overexpressed on cells of the tumour bulk and vasculature (but not on healthy tissue) where it promotes proliferation, metastasis and immune evasion. This proposal aims to build on exciting pilot data showing that Oncojan™ formulation results in remarkable preclinical activity; 65-fold reduction in tumour burden, doubling of median survival and loss of toxicity compared to the Taxol® standard-of-care in ovarian cancer. Our main focus will be on the seriously unmet medical need in ovarian cancer with complimentary studies in the deadly triple negative breast and pancreatic cancer indications. This will enable commercial investment to support formal development.

One in three of us will get cancer and increases in life expectancy indices will only exacerbate this statistic. Unfortunately, many cancer subtypes have very poor survival rates. Most chemotherapeutics have devastating side effects such as hair loss, nausea, weakened immunity and fatigue. BioMoti is developing an exciting technology platform based on Queen Mary, University of London research to improve the delivery of anti-cancer drugs to cancer cells and spare healthy tissues. Initial laboratory tests proved this new approach dramatically increases the efficacy of chemotherapy whilst significantly reducing associated side effects. This TSB Biomedical Catalyst project will investigate the feasibility of developing a lead candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer based on the platform technology. Looking forward, the conceptual demonstration of the technology and widespread adoption would lead to substantial patient benefits in a number of cancer types.