GigaGen's technology leads the field and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center's access to oncology samples will contribute to developing innovative immune therapies to cure cancer
South San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 04, 2016
GigaGen Inc., a biopharmaceutical company with patented technology for discovery of T cell receptor (TCR) and antibody drugs from human immune repertoires, today announced a collaboration with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, which treats more than 10,000 cancer patients a year and is consistently rated in the top twenty hospitals nationally for cancer.
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is an affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center is part of both the larger UH Cleveland Medical Center and the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In this collaboration, GigaGen and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center will work together to identify candidate tumor and immune cell donors for discovery of TCR and antibody therapeutics. University Hospitals will provide samples to GigaGen, selected based on good clinical outcomes or response to therapy. GigaGen will use its technology to isolate millions of single immune cells from the samples and screen TCRs and antibodies from the immune cells for reactivity against tumors. The TCRs and antibodies can be further developed as adoptive cell therapies or recombinant protein drugs for cancer treatment.
“We are excited to collaborate with UH Cleveland Medical Center and its Seidman Cancer Center, a world-class oncology facility,” said Dave Johnson, PhD, CEO of GigaGen. “GigaGen’s approach to immunotherapy development relies on identifying naturally occurring cancer-fighting drug candidates in oncology samples. Our technology leads the field in this area, and University Hospital’s access to a diverse range of oncology samples and expertise in treating cancer will contribute significantly to our goal of developing innovative immune therapies to cure cancer.”
The collaboration starts immediately.
About GigaGen
GigaGen is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibody and T cell therapies derived from immune repertoires. GigaGen’s technology platform captures the genetic make-up of the entire human immune repertoire, capturing and genetically analyzing B and T cells at a rate of millions per hour, while simultaneously identifying their antigen and protein binders. Therapies derived from natural immune repertoires mimic the body's natural immune system - they can be more effective, can have fewer side effects, and can have faster development timelines than those developed from traditional methods. GigaGen has drug discovery projects with several pharmaceutical companies in addition to its own pipeline for development of the first recombinant intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and immuno-oncology therapies. For more information visit http://www.gigagen.com.
About University Hospitals/Cleveland, Ohio
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland’s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation, dermatology and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is the second largest employer in northern Ohio with 26,000 employees. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.