ARTICLE | Product Development
Ligand approach to IGF
MedImmune MEDI-573 targets ligands in IGF pathway, where many cancer drugs fail
April 11, 2011 7:00 AM UTC
While drug companies have been targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor since it was first implicated in cancer almost two decades ago, the strategy has yet to bear fruit because of tumor resistance and off-target effects. AstraZeneca plc's MedImmune LLC subsidiary thinks it can avoid those issues by targeting the receptor's ligands IGF-1 and IGF-2 with its MEDI-573 antibody.
Jerry McMahon, SVP of R&D and head of the oncology innovative medicines unit at MedImmune, said preclinical data thus far support the mAb's mechanistic rationale, and Phase I data show no safety signals. The company plans to start Phase II trials in various solid tumors next half...