Technology Summary: The technology described here permits the delivery of therapeutic or diagnostic (tumor imaging) molecules to a variety of tumor types in a targeted fashion. Current methods for targeting therapeutic agents to tumors have limited utility because they
(i) produce toxic effects through reactions with normal tissues;
(ii) lack the ability to bind to multiple tumor types and/or
(iii) lack tumor specificity.
This technology is based upon the fact that certain proteins are upregulated in blood vessels in response to irradiation. These upregulated proteins can act as targets for binding molecules such as antibodies, peptides, or other chemicals. Attaching an anti-tumor therapeutic unit, such as a radioisotope, to one of these binding molecules (e.g. an antibody) provides a way to treat or detect a variety of tumor types and stages while avoiding damage to normal tissue. Licensing Opportunity: A suite of patents and patent applications available for licensing includes compositions of radiation-inducible tumor proteins, and molecules that bind these proteins such as peptides and antibodies; along with methods of using these ligands for treatment and for identification of radiation inducible ligands in tumors. State of development/future plans: Screening a phage display library (murine) has resulted in production of 13 recombinant antibodies that bind to an identified radiation-inducible antigen. Only 2 (designated Lead and Control ScFv) of the 13 recombinant antibodies bound radiation-induced antigen in mice and are depicted in the accompanying figure. Of these two, the LEAD ScFv specifically bound tumor (see figure). Research is moving towards humanizing the lead antibody and identifying the specific epitope bound by the antibody.

Inventors
Dennis Hallahan
Zhaozhong Han
Raymond Mernaugh
Shimian Qu


CONTACT
Janis Elsner
(615) 343-2430
janis.elsner@vanderbilt.edu

File Number: MKT9935