Angiex’s research in vascular biology and cancer was noted in the Wall Street Journal, in an article by Brian Gormley, published September 22, 2023:
“How Research in Space Helps Doctors Treat People on Earth”.
The company is looking to gain revolutionary power over cancer using the novel biology of an emerging cancer target, TM4SF1. Leveraging work coming out of Harvard Medical School and BIDMC, Angiex looks to build an exciting pipeline of Antibody Drug Conjugates that will take advantage of target expression that is:
• Highly and broadly expressed across solid tumors
• Enables exceptional tumor selectivity
• Has potential to enhance therapeutic margin due to a novel nuclear internalization route to deliver payload to cancer cells.
“The biotech start-up’s work highlighted in the article was an attempt to better understand how the company experimental cancer drugs interact with normal cells lining blood vessels, known as endothelial cells”, says Paul Jaminet, co-founder, president and chief operating officer. “When cultured on Earth, these cells typically die quickly unless they are cultured with growth factors and changed to a proliferative state similar to that of endothelial cells in tumors. As a result, there is no good cell-culture model for the normal endothelial cells in which Angiex’s drugs are expected to have their toxicity” he says.
From our inception, Angiex has been a science-first company eager to make the safest and most effective cancer drugs possible, based on our novel strategy of simultaneously attacking both tumor cells and the tumor vasculature. To that end, we have left no stone unturned in optimizing our lead drug.
Fast forward to today and the Angiex lead program, AGX101, has completed IND-enabling studies and is in the final stage of gaining FDA approval for human clinical trials. The drug has transformative potential through its selective attack on two compartments of the tumor, the cancer cells and the angiogenic endothelium.
More resources about Angiex’s research on the International Space Station can be found at these links:
• ISS National Lab SpaceX CRS-15 Research Spotlight: Angiex, Inc.
• A NASA video from astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor as she conducted Angiex’s cancer therapy experiments on the ISS is here: Angiex Cancer Therapy in Space
• Orion’s Quest, “Mission CμRE – Cancer in Microgravity” -- educational materials for students: http://www.orionsquest.org/cure
• NASA press release: NASA Extends International Space Station National Lab Management
• The Scientist, Katarina Zimmer, “Pharma Looks to Outer Space to Boost Drug R&D”: Pharma Looks to Outer Space to Boost Drug R&D | The Scientist Magazine®
• CNET, Erica Argueta, “Space medicine isn’t just for astronauts. It’s for all of us”, Space medicine isn't just for astronauts. It's for all of us - CNET
• Space.com, Doris Elin Urrutia, “This is How NASA’s Trying to Find Better Cancer Treatments in Space,” NASA Is Trying to Find Better Cancer Treatments in Space (Video)
• Bloomberg, Cynthia Koons and Jared S Hopkins, “The Next Cancer Drug Might Start in Outer Space,” The Next Cancer Drug Might Start in Outer Space - Bloomberg
Photo credit: NASA Johnson