Lpath first to generate Mabs against LPA

USA-based Lpath says it has achieved a breakthrough by generating functional antibodies against lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a key lipid and potent cancer promoter. The San Diego, California-based firm was also the first to generate therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against bioactive lipids.

According to Lpath, the cancer-research community has "long recognized LPA as a significant contributor to cancer through its promotion of cancer-cell growth and metastasis in a broad range of tumor types," noting that many academics, biotechnology firms, and pharmaceutical companies "have all tried, without success, to produce drugs, including antibodies, that target LPA and neutralize its potent tumorigenic effects."

Lpath achieved its goal by using its proprietary ImmuneY2 technology. The firm said it has also demonstrated, using standard assays, that these antibodies mitigate LPA's tumorigenic effects on cancer cells. Gordon Mills, the chair of the Molecular Therapeutics at the USA-based MD Anderson Cancer Center, said he is "excited by the opportunity to evaluate the anti-LPA antibodies in preclinical models of human cancer." Lpath's lead drug candidate, Sphingomab, was also developed using the ImmuneY2 platform to produce antibodies against sphingosine-1-phosphate, another validated cancer target.