Kancera and Recipharm collaborate to manufacture clinical trial supply

Kancera’s pharmaceutical candidate KAND567 works by blocking the Fractalkine system and has been shown in preclinical disease models to effectively counteract the onset of autoimmune disorders, as well as neuritis and pain in connection with chemotherapy against cancer. In future clinical studies, Kancera intends to treat patients with the pharmaceutical candidate KAND567 filled into capsules and taken orally.

As part of the collaboration, Recipharm will develop the preparation that is required for effective release of KAND567 from the capsules, as well as manufacturing the pharmaceutical product. The work will be performed at Recipharm’s development facility in Solna.

Thomas Olin, CEO of Kancera said: “The decision to commence development of capsules for an active dosage of KAND567 shows that Kancera has reached an important milestone in the Fractalkine project. We are delighted to now be collaborating with Recipharm to produce the pharmaceutical product that will be used to study how KAND567 can help patients.”

Torkel Gren, General Manager at Recipharm in Solna commented: “We are happy to be able to contribute to the development of a new drug with the potential to be of great medical value. We have extensive experience in developing drugs for clinical trials as well as commercial manufacture and this will be very valuable in the collaboration with Kancera.”

About the Fractalkine project
KAND567 is an orally available small molecule that blocks CX3CR1, the Fractalkine receptor. Fractalkine is an immune-modulating factor, a so-called chemokine, which transmits signals via the CX3CR1 receptor, thereby controlling the function of immune cells and cancer cells. The levels of Fractalkine molecules and CX3CR1 receptors have been shown to be elevated in several inflammatory diseases, in cancer and in chronic pain conditions.

Kancera’s drug candidate KAND567 is the most advanced drug candidate against CX3CR1 and has been shown to be effective against inflammation and pain in multiple preclinical disease models.

In the healthy individual, Fractalkine and its receptor, CX3CR1, regulate migration of immune cells from the blood capillary wall into areas where the immune system is needed. Cancer cells use the same system (CX3CR1 and Fractalkine) to invade healthy organs and form metastases. In addition, the presence of Fractalkine has been associated with a lack of effect of immuno-oncological drugs. Therefore, Kancera evaluates how well KAND567 can stop tumor growth.

Animal studies show that Fractalkine’s receptor is not essential for survival and that important immune functions remain intact despite the lack of receptor. The basis for successful development of KAND567 lies in effectively addressing local inflammation while maintaining a healthy immune system.

In clinical trials, blocking of the Fractalkine system has been shown to have the desired effect against auto-immune diseases such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis in refractory patients. These studies have been conducted by the pharmaceutical company Eisai using a monoclonal antibody. The results of these studies indicate that the probability increases for the Kancera AB drug candidate KAND567 to achieve clinical and commercial success as the first small-molecule drug that works through the Fractalkine system to combat many common diseases.

About Kancera AB
Kancera develops the basis for new therapeutics, starting with new treatment concepts and ending with the sale of a drug candidate to international pharmaceutical companies. Kancera is currently developing drugs for the treatment of leukemia and solid tumors, by regulating the immune system, blocking survival signals in the cancer cell and on addressing cancer metabolism. Kancera’s operations are based in the Karolinska Institute Science Park in Stockholm and the company employs around 18 people. Kancera shares are traded on NASDAQ First North and the number of shareholders was more than 7500 as of June 30th, 2017. FNCA is Kancera’s Certified Adviser. Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Professor Håkan Mellstedt, and MD PhD Charlotte Edenius are board members and Kancera’s scientific advisers.

About Recipharm
Recipharm is a leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) in the pharmaceutical industry employing around 5,000 employees. Recipharm offers manufacturing services of pharmaceuticals in various dosage forms, production of clinical trial material and APIs, and pharmaceutical product development. Recipharm manufactures several hundred different products to customers ranging from big pharma to smaller research and development companies. Recipharm’s turnover is approximately SEK 5.3 billion and the company operates development and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The Recipharm B-share (RECI B) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

For more information on Recipharm, please visit www.recipharm.com.

For further information contact,
Thomas Olin, CEO: +46-735-20 40 01

Address:
Kancera AB (publ)
Karolinska Institutet Science Park
Banvaktsvägen 22
SE 171 48 Solna

Visit our home page at: http://www.kancera.com