WURZBURG, Germany and BERLIN, July 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pentixapharm AG, a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing novel targeted radiopharmaceuticals for a range of malignancies, announced the signing of an agreement effective July 1st.stacquires the target discovery business of Berlin-based Glycotope GmbH.
The agreement includes a portfolio of preclinical antibodies against multiple tumor targets that can be developed into radiopharmaceuticals. It also includes Glycotope's laboratories, cell banks, tumor target database, equipment required to utilize its discovery platform, and various patents, licenses and other tangible assets. In total, Pentixapharm will add to its staff an integrated team of experienced executives, research and development specialists and managers.
“This acquisition expands Pentyxapharm's intellectual property portfolio beyond that built around the CXCR4 receptor. It immediately doubles our development pipeline and significantly expands the associated business and clinical development opportunities,” explains Hakim Butelfa, CEO of Pentyxapharm AG. “Glycotope's pipeline contains several candidates ready for proof-of-concept studies as next-generation radiopharmaceuticals. We want to maximize the synergy between Pentyxapharm's know-how and Glycotope's target discovery to benefit patients in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications.”
“The transaction not only gives Pentyxapharm the opportunity to build its clinical pipeline beyond its current CXCR4 ligand-based programs, but also significantly strengthens its management and operational capabilities,” said Andreas Eckert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Pentyxapharm and parent company Eckert & Ziegler SE (EZAG). “It adds an important layer of talent to Pentyxapharm's planned separation to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and facilitates a seamless separation from EZAG. The offices and laboratories included in the transaction are large enough to enable us to consolidate all our Berlin-based activities in one location.”
The transaction will also affect the composition of Pentyxapharm's management board after the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Pentyxapharm's current CEO, Hakim Boutelfah, will move to the company's supervisory board. He will be replaced by Dirk Premes, currently Pentyxapharm's chief medical officer. Patrick Köhler, former chief scientific officer at Glycotope, will become Pentyxapharm's CSO, while Henner Korenberg, former CEO at Glycotope, will become chief business officer, responsible for administrative and business development issues.
Patrick Koehler, Pentyxapharm's newly appointed Chief Scientific Officer, explains: “The Target Discovery Unit's development activities are focused on tumor-associated glycan structures, so-called glycotargets. Their main advantage is their reduced binding to normal tissues compared to conventional antibodies. Due to their excellent tumor specificity, they are suitable for development with different modes of action. In the radiopharmaceutical field, they have the potential to fill therapeutic gaps that exist for the majority of solid tumors.”
About the Glycotope Target Discovery Unit
The Target Discovery Unit utilizes a proprietary technology platform to develop tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies or their fragments. These antibodies target specific glycan structures or protein/glycan-linked glycoepitopes (GlycoTargets) associated with tumors. The Unit has discovered more than 200 GlycoTargets (www.glycotope.com) to date. Many of these have been licensed to major pharmaceutical companies worldwide and are currently in preclinical and clinical development.
About Pentyxapharm AG
Pentixapharm is a radiopharmaceutical development company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Würzburg, Germany. Currently 100% owned by the Eckert & Ziegler Group, it will soon be spun off onto the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Pentixapharm is committed to developing best-in-class CXCR4 ligand-based radiopharmaceutical approaches with a clear commercialization path for diagnostic and therapeutic programs in a number of hematological and solid tumors, as well as cardiovascular, endocrine and inflammatory diseases.
Pentixapharm's clinical pipeline includes Pentyxar, an yttrium-90 based CNS lymphoma treatment, and Pentyxafol, a gallium-68 based companion diagnostic. Clinical trials for both compounds have already commenced in Europe with a dose-finding study for Pentyxar and a Phase 3 registration study for Pentyxafol. Additionally, Pentyxafol is being developed as a diagnostic tool for primary aldosteronism (PA), an important cause of hypertension. Pentyxapharm is currently preparing a US-centric Phase 3 registration study for PA to commence in 2025.
For further information, please contact:
Eckhart & Ziegler SE
Caroline Riehle, Investor Relations
10 Robert Roessle Strasse
13125 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 30 / 94 10 84-138
karolin.riehle@ezag.de, www.ezag.com
Pentyxa Farm AG
Philip Eckert, Investor Relations
email address
Phone: +49 30 94 10 84 227
Penticusa Farm
Media Contact:
MC Service AG
Anne Henneke
Phone: +49 211 529252 22
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