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Affibody® molecules for cancer imaging made by chemical synthesis

The article, entitled "Synthetic Affibody Molecules: A Novel Class of Affinity Ligands for Molecular Imaging of HER2-Expressing Malignant Tumors", by A. Orlova and co-workers appeared in print today (Cancer Research, Volume 67) and is also featured on the cover page. A synthetic version of a HER2-specific Affibody® molecule is demonstrated to supersede the corresponding molecule obtained by bacterial production. The Affibody® molecule including a chelating group was produced in a single-process by peptide synthesis, resulting in a well defined and very homogeneous drug preparation. The chelating group was used for site-specific labeling of the Affibody® molecule with indium-111. Pre-clinical characterization showed specific tumor targeting, rapid biodistribution and blood clearance, as well as high contrast gamma camera imaging already 1 hour after injection.
 
Molecular imaging of drug targets and biomarkers, such as HER2, may facilitate the development and clinical use of individualized treatments using targeted therapeutics. In patients, this radiopharmaceutical holds promise not only to localize tumors but also to characterize them as HER2-positive, which can influence treatment regimes.
 
Commenting on the results, Dr. Joachim Feldwisch, project manager and corresponding author said: "Based on these positive results, and the first clinical data reported in June 2006, this product has already continued into development."
 
Dr. Lars Abrahmsén, Chief Scientific Officer at Affibody, commented: "The small size of Affibody® molecules enables chemical synthesis, in contrast to even the smallest antibody fragments. Affibody considers this to be an important advantage, expected to reduce the time and cost to take a novel imaging agent from research to market by avoiding complex biological production issues."