BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - Celltech Group plc is launching a program to develop antibody-targeted magnetic nanoparticles to treat cancer, following its discovery of a novel way of using magnetism to induce apoptosis.

Mike Eaton, head of chemistry, told BioWorld International, "There are known methods of doing this in the literature, but I can't say too much about the detail of our approach, as we intend to patent it.

"The mechanism is so nice, and no one has taken this line before. It involves some interesting physics, and while it is not quite the same as implanting a chip, it has some intelligence built in."

The program will draw on Celltech's expertise in the development of Mylotarg, the treatment for acute myeloid leukemia that was the first antibody-directed cancer treatment to reach the market.

"Nothing is quite straightforward, but one of the least-risky bits of the whole program will be linking the antibody to the magnetic nanoparticles," Eaton said.

Celltech Antibody Centre of Excellence in Slough, UK, part of UCB Pharma, of Brussels, Belgium, has joined forces with the University of Durham and the equipment manufacturer Oxford Instruments Molecular Biotools Ltd., of Abingdon, to develop the magnetotherapy.

Scientists at Durham will be responsible for the fabrication and coating of magnetic nanoparticles with the precise shape, size and properties that will be crucial to the application. "We will fund them to do this work," Eaton said. "This is one of the few academic labs that has the nanofabrication plant and the skills to make these particles."

Oxford Instruments will design prototype equipment for monitoring the progress of the magnetic particles to the tumor site and activating them by application of a controlled external magnetic field. The company will study the forces required and their duration with a variety of different particles, to optimize the efficacy of the technique.

The alliance is based on a two-year relationship between the companies, and will bring into play science that Eaton said has never been used in pharmaceuticals.

The aim is to get into preclinical development within the next three to four years.

"This is a radically different approach to cancer therapy," he said. "Here there is no toxin, and after targeting the nanoparticles, they will only be activated when they are known to be in the correct place, in areas that will benefit from it."