Molecular Imaging and the Advancement of Therapeutic Candidates into Early Clinical Trials
Date
PSPG/BioE Seminar
Graduate Programs in Bioengineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacogenomics Seminar Series PSPG 220
"Molecular imaging and the advancement of therapeutic candidates into early clinical trials"
"Irrational exuberance" isn’t just a problem for asset prices; excitement around potential new cancer therapies often builds on slender evidence prior to testing in a significant number of real patients, and there are too many therapeutic candidates and combinations to test them all empirically in large trials. Molecular imaging can have an important biomarker role in drug development by helping to confirm, particularly in patients, that a novel therapeutic is exhibiting the expected mechanism of action. This information bolsters confidence that we really do understand the biological rationale before advancing a candidate for further investment.
The utility of zirconium-89 immuno-PET is particularly clear in the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) because of the similarities between the biological processes driving image intensity and drug delivery, but the application of this technology to related challenges such as measuring target expression or receptor occupancy need further thought, and other techniques may be optimal. Examples of the use of immuno-PET and its associated logistics will be discussed along with considerations of what is desirable in PET biomarkers of early treatment response in evaluating novel cancer immunotherapies.
Type
Time Duration
Location
Video Conference To
PSPG/BioE Seminar
Graduate Programs in Bioengineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacogenomics Seminar Series PSPG 220
"Molecular imaging and the advancement of therapeutic candidates into early clinical trials"
"Irrational exuberance" isn’t just a problem for asset prices; excitement around potential new cancer therapies often builds on slender evidence prior to testing in a significant number of real patients, and there are too many therapeutic candidates and combinations to test them all empirically in large trials. Molecular imaging can have an important biomarker role in drug development by helping to confirm, particularly in patients, that a novel therapeutic is exhibiting the expected mechanism of action. This information bolsters confidence that we really do understand the biological rationale before advancing a candidate for further investment.
The utility of zirconium-89 immuno-PET is particularly clear in the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) because of the similarities between the biological processes driving image intensity and drug delivery, but the application of this technology to related challenges such as measuring target expression or receptor occupancy need further thought, and other techniques may be optimal. Examples of the use of immuno-PET and its associated logistics will be discussed along with considerations of what is desirable in PET biomarkers of early treatment response in evaluating novel cancer immunotherapies.
Speakers
Simon Williams studied biochemistry at the University of Oxford, England, in the eighties where he worked in George Radda’s lab learning the basics of phosphorus-31 NMR spectroscopy in living systems.
After graduate studies and a post-doc using fluorine-19 NMR spectroscopy to examine enzyme dynamics in vivo with Kevin Brindle, Simon moved from Cambridge, England, to Genentech in 1995 to help establish the Biomedical Imaging group there.
Over the years and in response to repeated questions from colleagues about “where is my antibody?”, “can we see apoptosis in vivo?”, “is my drug getting to the tumor?" and suchlike, Simon set up first a SPECT lab (with encouragement from Dr. Bruce Hasegawa) and then a full PET lab to enable more translationally relevant molecular imaging to support research and drug development.