Press
Release

Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. Awarded SBIR Funding for Systemic Pre-targeted Radioimmunothearpy with Bispecific Single Domain Antibodies for Cancer Treatment

Limerick, PA. November 14th, 2016 – Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. (Rockland) announced today the award of a $299,625 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop bispecific single chain recombinant antibodies for pre-targeted cancer diagnostic imaging and treatment. The funds will be distributed among Rockland and its collaborators, Abzyme Therapeutics (Limerick, PA) and Dr. Carolyn Anderson of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Pittsburgh, PA). This joint strategic effort will promote the generation of novel reagents and new insights for cancer imaging and therapeutic research.

Pre-targeted radiotherapy (PRIT) embodies the systemic administration of a radioactive agent that specifically targets a cancer biomarker expressed preferentially on cancer cells. Using radiolabeled antibodies, PRIT combines the advantages of radiation’s cytotoxic potential with the specificity of tumor-targeting agents. In most cases, tumor-targeting agents are radiolabeled antibodies, which can be used for the diagnosis, detection, and therapy of cancer. The diagnostic images can potentially predict the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy, an approach designated as theranostics.

In this SBIR contract, Rockland Immunochemicals in collaboration with Abzyme Therapeutics and Dr. Carolyn Anderson, propose to develop and characterize novel single chain camelid antibodies for imaging and treatment of tumors with reduced side effects The technology improves upon previous PRIT attempts by using single-chain antibody reagent that offers the promise of improved tumor penetration and tumor targeting along with reduced patient toxicity due to rapid clearance of toxic radioactive drug from the patient. The flexibility of the technology would offer more options to clinicians to deliver a diverse set of therapeutic and imaging radionuclide payloads.

Rockland received the award because of its strong scientific team and long track record of success in development of antibody reagents for diagnostics and cancer research with the NCI and other major research institutions. Rockland is committed to identifying and generating bioreagents that will increase the pace of research across life sciences.

About Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc.

Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. supports the academic, biopharma, and diagnostic industries with antibodies and antibody based tools used in basic research, assay development, and preclinical studies. With facilities in Pennsylvania for over 50 years, Rockland manufactures products ideally suited for integration into critical assays such as western blotting, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence microscopy (IF), ELISA and flow cytometry.

Additional information about Rockland’s life science tools and services can be found on Rockland’s website at www.rockland-inc.com. For additional information regarding this announcement, please contact: Dana Dever; Marketing Manager, Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc.

Phone: 484.791.3823

Email: dana.dever@rockland-inc.com