C-Biomex said Thursday that it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center to proceed with the U.S. investigational new drug (IND) application for its radiopharmaceutical therapy, CBT-001.

CBT-001 targets CA-9 (Carbonic anhydrase 9), which is overexpressed in kidney, breast, and lung cancers. It is a therapy incorporating a radioisotope (Lutecium-177) into C-Biomex's proprietary ligand.

MD Anderson and C-Biomex will conduct the entire clinical trial of CBT-001 at the U.S. institution to meet the FDA’s IND requirement.

Dr. Charles Manning, the principal investigator of the agreement, is a professor at MD Anderson and serves as president of the World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS).

"MD Anderson and Professor Manning are the perfect partners to complement our expertise in all phases of therapeutic radiopharmaceutical development," C-Biomex CEO Cha Jun-hoe said. "We will rapidly conduct trials for the progression of FDA IND and are open to collaborative discussions on additional targets to expand the agreement."

Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, similar to antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), are a new generation of anticancer drugs that selectively kill only cancer cells by loading a ligand with cancer-targeting capabilities with radioisotopes instead of toxins.

Based on its unique peptide discovery platform technology, CUSTM, C-Biomex is developing CBT-001 and other next-generation therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals with excellent properties.