CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & DUBLIN, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIND Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIND), a clinical-stage nanomedicine company developing targeted and programmable therapeutics called Accurins™, and Macrophage Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: NAVB) today announced they have entered into a research collaboration to engineer Accurins with the Manocept™ targeting platform that enables selective, efficient binding to CD206 positive disease-associated macrophages. Upon achievement of proof-of-concept, the companies anticipate expanding the collaboration to develop Manocept-linked Accurins as a novel, potent approach to impact the tumor microenvironment which, in many forms of cancer, is a barrier to immune effector cells.
“This collaboration represents a potentially significant advance in the evolution of our platform as we develop Accurins with novel targeting ligands,” said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer of BIND Therapeutics. “The modular nature of our platform offers multiple therapeutic possibilities, and our collaboration with Macrophage Therapeutics may enable the development of Accurins that target activated macrophages, which in cancer, help create an immunosuppressive microenvironment. We believe the clinically validated Manocept platform, with its unique ability to seek out activated macrophages, fits into our vision to engineer Accurins that have a profound impact on the treatment of diseases, including our current focus in cancer.”
Disease-associated macrophages generally play a pro-tumoral role and are immunosuppressive, preventing the immune system from mounting an attack on tumor cells. Based on the expression of CD206 mannose receptors on disease-associated macrophages, BIND and Macrophage plan to conduct joint research to develop a CD206 targeted Accurin nanoparticle that is capable of concentrating various therapeutic payloads to the tumor microenvironment.
“We are pleased to work with BIND Therapeutics to explore the therapeutic potential of our two complementary technology platforms,” said Michael M. Goldberg, M.D., CEO of Macrophage Therapeutics and Director of Navidea. “The Manocept platform is the basis for the FDA-approved CD206 targeted sentinel lymph node detection agent, Lymphoseek® (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) injection. Coupled with BIND’s specifically engineered Accurins that concentrate therapeutic payloads to extracellular and intracellular compartments, with a tunable controlled-release profile, we are optimistic that we can create a wide range of therapeutic applications.”
“It is well-established that macrophages play an important role in many disease states but it has proven difficult to selectively target and alter macrophages that play a key role in disease progression,” said Hagop Youssoufian, M.Sc., M.D., chief medical officer at BIND Therapeutics. “By coupling Accurins with Macrophage’s well-credentialed CD206 targeting ligand, we may be able to treat macrophage-mediated diseases through increased uptake, and concentration, of targeted therapeutic payloads in the tumor microenvironment. BIND’s Medicinal Nanoengineering® platform is able to combine multiple molecular components into a targeted, long-circulating Accurin. An Accurin nanoparticle that binds to CD206 positive macrophages could be a valuable asset in the armament against multiple cancers and disease states.”
"The collaboration furthers our vision to develop therapeutic applications of the Manocept platform through strategic partnerships,” said Rick Gonzalez, president and CEO of Navidea. “In collaborating with BIND, we will be able to leverage their accomplished R&D team who has strong track record for advancing targeted nanoparticles from concept into the clinic.”
About Accurins
Accurins, a new class of targeted therapeutics developed using BIND’s Medicinal Nanoengineering® platform, are nanoparticles engineered to have a profound impact on the treatment of disease. The elegant and novel design of Accurins allow for prolonged circulation, controlled and tunable release and selective targeting of a therapeutic payload to diseased tissue or cells while avoiding immune surveillance detection and systemic toxicities.
Accurins can be engineered for multiple therapeutic applications and have the potential to integrate numerous payloads, including highly potent drugs with mechanism-based toxicities that limit therapeutic benefit, DNA, RNA, proteins and immunotherapy agents. This attribute enables Accurins to target multiple diseases, including cancer, inflammatory, vascular, and infectious disease.
About Manocept CD206 Targeting Platform for Therapeutics Development
Manocept™ CD206 Targeting Platform is a proprietary mannose-containing, receptor-directed technology platform designed to engineer novel, synthetic receptor targeted imaging agents and therapeutics for cancer and other diseases. Manocept’s unique structural and molecular properties enable the design of novel immuno-constructs that selectively target and bind to CD206 (mannose receptor) and other C-type Lectins found on activated, disease-associated macrophages and tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). The Manocept CD206 Targeting Platform provides a novel and valuable approach to the design of drug molecules targeting CD206 disease-associated macrophages for therapeutic purposes.
About Lymphoseek®
Lymphoseek® (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) injection is the first and only FDA-approved receptor-targeted lymphatic mapping agent. It is a novel, receptor-targeted, small-molecule radiopharmaceutical used in the evaluation of lymphatic basins that may have cancer involvement in patients. Lymphoseek is designed for the precise identification of lymph nodes that drain from a primary tumor, which have the highest probability of harboring cancer. Lymphoseek is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in solid tumor cancers where lymphatic mapping is a component of surgical management and for guiding sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with clinically node negative breast cancer, melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Lymphoseek has also received European approval in imaging and intraoperative detection of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with melanoma, breast cancer or localized squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.
Accurate diagnostic evaluation of cancer is critical, as it guides therapy decisions and determines patient prognosis and risk of recurrence. Overall in the U.S., solid tumor cancers may represent up to 1.2 million cases per year. The sentinel node label in the U.S. and Europe may address approximately 235,000 new cases of breast cancer, 76,000 new cases of melanoma and 45,000 new cases of head and neck/oral cancer in the U.S., and approximately 367,000 new cases of breast cancer, 83,000 new cases of melanoma and 55,000 new cases of head and neck/oral cancer diagnosed in Europe annually.
Lymphoseek Indication and Important Safety Information
Lymphoseek is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated with or without scintigraphic imaging for:
- Lymphatic mapping using a handheld gamma counter to locate lymph nodes draining a primary tumor site in patients with solid tumors for which this procedure is a component of intraoperative management.
- Guiding sentinel lymph node biopsy using a handheld gamma counter in patients with clinically node negative squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, breast cancer or melanoma.
Important Safety Information
In clinical trials with Lymphoseek, no serious hypersensitivity reactions were reported, however Lymphoseek may pose a risk of such reactions due to its chemical similarity to dextran. Serious hypersensitivity reactions have been associated with dextran and modified forms of dextran (such as iron dextran drugs).
Prior to the administration of Lymphoseek, patients should be asked about previous hypersensitivity reactions to drugs, in particular dextran and modified forms of dextran. Resuscitation equipment and trained personnel should be available at the time of Lymphoseek administration, and patients observed for signs or symptoms of hypersensitivity following injection.
Any radiation-emitting product may increase the risk for cancer. Adhere to dose recommendations and ensure safe handling to minimize the risk for excessive radiation exposure to patients or health care workers.
In clinical trials, no patients experienced serious adverse reactions and the most common adverse reactions were injection site irritation and/or pain (<1%).
FULL LYMPHOSEEK PRESCRIBING INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:
About BIND Therapeutics
BIND Therapeutics is a clinical-stage nanomedicine platform company developing a pipeline of Accurins™, its novel targeted therapeutics designed to increase the concentration and duration of therapeutic payloads at disease sites while reducing exposure to healthy tissue. BIND is leveraging its Medicinal Nanoengineering® platform to develop a pipeline of Accurins targeting hematological and solid tumors and has a number of strategic collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies to develop Accurins in areas of high unmet need. BIND's lead drug candidate, BIND-014, is a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) -targeted Accurin that contains docetaxel, a clinically-validated and widely-used cancer chemotherapy drug. BIND-014 is currently in development for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, in patients with KRAS mutations or squamous histology. In addition, BIND plans to initiate clinical trials with BIND-014 in cervical, bladder, head and neck and cholangio cancers in 2015. BIND is also advancing BIND-510, its second PSMA-targeted Accurin drug candidate containing vincristine, a potent microtubule inhibitor with dose limiting peripheral neuropathy in its conventional form, through important preclinical studies to position it for an Investigational New Drug application filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016. Lastly, BIND is developing Accurins designed to inhibit PLK1 and KSP, both of which BIND believes are promising anti-mitotic targets that have been limited in the clinic due to myelotoxicity prior to reaching therapeutic doses.
BIND has announced ongoing collaborations with Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca AB, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Merck & Co., or Merck (known as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the United States and Canada), to develop Accurins based on their proprietary therapeutic payloads and targeting ligands.
For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.bindtherapeutics.com.
About Macrophage Therapeutics, Inc.
Macrophage Therapeutics, Inc., a newly created subsidiary of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAVB), is developing therapeutics using the patented Manocept immunotherapy platform licensed from Navidea to target over-active macrophages implicated in cancer, cardiovascular, central nervous system, autoimmune, antiviral, and skin diseases. Manocept specifically targets CD206, or mannose receptor prevalent on over-active macrophages. The technology enables highly specific targeted delivery of active (either existing or yet to be developed) agents that can modulate the activity of over-active macrophages that have been implicated in many diseases. Targeted delivery should significantly enhance a given compound’s efficacy and safety. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.macrophagetherapeutics.com
About Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NAVB) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precision diagnostics, therapeutics and radiopharmaceutical agents. Navidea is developing multiple precision-targeted products and platforms including Manocept™ and NAV4694 to help identify the sites and pathways of undetected disease and enable better diagnostic accuracy, clinical decision-making, targeted treatment and, ultimately, patient care. Lymphoseek® (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) injection, Navidea’s first commercial product from the Manocept platform, was approved by the FDA in March 2013 and in Europe in November 2014. Navidea’s strategy is to deliver superior growth and shareholder return by bringing to market novel radiopharmaceutical agents and therapeutics, and advancing the Company’s pipeline through global partnering and commercialization efforts. For more information, please visit www.navidea.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations regarding: BIND and Macrophage’s collaboration to develop Manocept-linked Accurins, or a CD206 targeted Accurin nanoparticle, including without limitation effects on the tumor microenvironment, our ability to increase uptake and concentration of therapeutic payloads, our creation of a wide range of therapeutic applications, and our creation of a valuable asset; our platform, including but not limited to its evolution and therapeutic possibilities; the Manocept platform; Lymphoseek; the incidence of various types of cancer in the U.S. and Europe; Macrophage, including without limitation its development of therapeutics using the Manocept platform and expectations regarding targeted delivery; Navidea, including without limitation its development of precision-targeted products and platforms and its strategy; Accurins, including without limitation developing a pipeline of Accurins, including in areas of high unmet need, and Accurins’ impact and potential; BIND-014, including without limitation the initiation of clinical trials of BIND-014 in 2015 and BIND-014’s potential; BIND-510, including without limitation, statements regarding our plan for an Investigational New Drug filing in 2016; and our collaboration agreements with Pfizer, Merck and AstraZeneca.
These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the fact that the Company has incurred significant losses since its inception and expects to incur losses for the foreseeable future; the Company’s need for additional funding, which may not be available; raising additional capital may cause dilution to its stockholders, restrict its operations or require it to relinquish rights to its technologies or drug candidates; the Company’s limited operating history; the terms of the Company’s credit facility place restrictions on its operating and financial flexibility; failure to use and expand its medicinal nanoengineering platform to build a pipeline of drug candidates and develop marketable drugs; the early stage of the Company’s development efforts with only one drug candidate in clinical development; failure of the Company or its collaborators to successfully develop and commercialize drug candidates; clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome; delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials; serious adverse or unacceptable side effects or limited efficacy observed during the development of the Company’s drug candidates; inability to maintain any of the Company’s collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; the Company’s reliance on third parties to conduct its clinical trials and manufacture its drug candidates; the Company’s inability to obtain required regulatory approvals; any conclusion by the FDA that BIND-014 does not satisfy the requirements for approval under the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway; the fact that a fast track or breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the Company’s drug candidates may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process; the inability to obtain orphan drug exclusivity for drug candidates; failure to obtain marketing approval in international jurisdictions; any post-marketing restrictions or withdrawals from the market; effects of recently enacted and future legislation; failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; failure to achieve market acceptance by physicians, patients, or third-party payors; failure to establish effective sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties with such capabilities; effects of substantial competition; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; product liability lawsuits; failure to retain key executives and attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; difficulties in managing the Company’s growth; risks associated with operating internationally, including the possibility of sanctions with respect to our operations in Russia; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; failure to obtain and maintain patent protection for or otherwise protect our technology and products; effects of patent or other intellectual property lawsuits; the eligibility of a significant portion of the Company’s total outstanding shares to be sold into the market, which could cause the market price of its common stock to drop significantly; increased costs as a result of operating as a public company; and any securities class action litigation. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on May 7, 2015, and our other reports filed with the SEC could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
