Cancer therapy based on Affibody® molecules will be a powerful complement to conventional first and second line treatments, and there are several potential benefits compared to traditional methods including favorable diffusion and tumor penetration resulting from the small size. In addition, high affinity and specific binding lead to limited side effects. We believe that therapy based on tumor targeted Affibody® molecules will enable treatment of currently non treatable forms of cancer.

Affibody® molecules are superior to monoclonal antibodies as carriers of toxins or therapeutic radionuclides because of the absence of non-target interactions, such as the Fc-receptor interactions of the antibody. This means that the toxic substance destroys the tumor with minimal damage to surrounding tissue. In addition, antibodies are produced in mammalian cells, whereas Affibody® molecules may be produced in bacteria, associated with a significantly lower cost. Antibodies are also complicated to characterize, whereas Affibody® molecules and Affibody® fusion proteins are readily characterized due to their small size, lack of glycosylations and a high homogeneity.

Affibody has obtained promising pre-clinical data where tumor cells (corresponding to metastases) were eradicated by radiation from a radioactive isotope carried to tumor cells by a tumor-specific binding Affibody® molecule.

The Affibody® molecules’ short plasma circulation time is optimal for molecular imaging but may be extended up to weeks using Affibody’s albumin binding technology, resulting in a molecule that is optimized for targeted therapy.