SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Fair Access Medicines and OncoSynergy have entered into a strategic alliance to test an investigational Ebola treatment, OS2966, in West Africa. This first-in-class antibody against the CD29 molecule blocks Ebola virus entry into human cells in laboratory models. The proposed clinical study aims to examine the safety, tolerability, and dose of OS2966 in patients infected with the Ebola virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the West African Ebola crisis has grown to an alarming 20,000+ infected individuals and a death toll now exceeding 8,000 victims.
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OncoSynergy has demonstrated dramatic effectiveness of OS2966 in multiple models of highly aggressive solid cancers and OS2966 was recently granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA in the treatment of glioblasoma. The Ebola program emerged from a successful crowd-funding campaign last summer which lead to collaborations with several of the country’s leading Ebola scientists. Preliminary safety has been demonstrated in primates and manufacture of OS2966 has been accelerated in response to the Ebola crisis with the cooperative effort of CMC Biologics. Clinical grade product will be available in early 2015.
Fair Access Medicines (FAM) is a San Francisco nonprofit organization founded to identify, develop and deliver medicines targeted at unmet medical needs worldwide. FAM has assembled a group of Biotechnology veterans who leverage their extensive knowledge in drug development and manufacture, partnering with private, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to deliver on their mission. FAM’s Board of Directors includes Dr. Ellen Cooper, a pioneer in Pediatric AIDS treatment in the US, Africa and in other locations worldwide and Professor Thomas Pogge, the Yale Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs and Director of the Global Justice Program. Pogge commented, “It is heartening to see that some pharmaceutical innovators are finally focusing sustained attention on the Ebola virus.”
“We are very excited by the potential of OS2966 for Ebola particularly since it has a completely unique mechanism of action and can be readily manufactured at large-scale,” said Jim Wilkins, PhD, Founder of FAM. “We stand ready to work with OncoSynergy to expedite trials in West Africa.”
FAM is raising donations to support their charitable mission to supply medicines for unmet medical needs including those meant to address Ebola. A gala launch event co-hosted by FAM and OncoSynergy is planned for late-February 2015 in San Francisco specifically to fund the West Africa OS2966 clinical trial. They are also actively seeking additional collaborators who may be able to assist with clinical trial infrastructure, personnel, and logistics in Africa.
“We are pleased to be working with Dr. Wilkins and FAM on this collaborative project to combat Ebola,” commented Dr. Anne-Marie Carbonell, MD, Vice President of Clinical Development at OncoSynergy. “We expect this alliance to significantly accelerate our ability to test our drug candidate in West Africa and will also assist in guiding our larger development program. Most importantly, the collaboration seeks to address the current Ebola crisis which, despite international efforts, continues to ravage West Africa.”
About Fair Access Medicines FAM is a California 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to identify, develop and deliver medicines for unmet medical needs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.fairaccessmedicines.org.
Media Contact: Jim Wilkins, PhD, jim@fairaccessmedicines.org, +1 (415) 621-5480
About OncoSynergy OncoSynergy is a UCSF spinoff based in San Francisco, California focused on addressing grave unmet needs in medicine with its S.M.A.R.T targeted therapies (multi-indication drug candidates which combat therapeutic resistance). To learn more, visit www.oncosynergy.com.
Media Contact: Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD, shawn@oncosynergy.com, +1 (415) 666-2391
Media Contact:Shawn Carbonell, OncoSynergy, Inc., 415-666-2391, shawn@oncosynergy.com
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SOURCE OncoSynergy, Inc.
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