Curie-Cancer, the Paris-based body responsible for developing Institut Curie’s industry partnership activities, and GamaMabs Pharma, a French biotechnology company developing monoclonal antibodies for cancer, have extended their partnership to develop the 3C23K antibody for the treatment of gynecological cancers.

An initial partnership agreement was concluded in 2013. The partnership agreement has been renewed and extended in order to further examine the efficacy of this candidate drug for ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is responsible for over 50,000 deaths a year in Europe and the US.

3C32K is a low-fucose antibody that mobilizes tumor immune cells and targets the anti-Müllerian hormone receptor (AMHR2). The expression of this hormone is limited to adult ovaries (where it is expressed by the granulosa cells) and testicles (by the Leydig cells). AMHR2 also is expressed in the majority of gynecological cancers, such as ovarian and endometrial cancers, being detected in around 65% of cases.

The 3C23K antibody is in preclinical development. Initial clinical trials are expected to start in 2015, following a round of fundraising scheduled for the first half of the year.