Globo H

The surfaces of cancer cells frequently express specific types of carbohydrate antigens, like Globo H. Healthy cells do not express or, if at all, express these antigens to a lesser extent. Therefore, such antigens may be used as potential targets for stimulating an active immune response against tumor cells.

Globo H was first isolated as a glycolipid with a ceramide backbone from the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by Hakomori and colleagues in 1983. It is highly expressed in various types of cancer, such as breast, prostate, and lung. Therefore, it is a potential target for the development of a novel immunotherapeutic treatment against various cancers.

Globo H is a complex hexasaccharide. The lack of an efficient synthesis method hindered further clinical development until the development of the One-Pot Synthesis (OPopS™) platform. The platform was developed by Professor Chi-Huey Wong, Distinguished Research Fellow and President of Academia Sinica, when he was at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). OBI has rights to the OPopS™ platform, which enables the commercialization of Adagloxad simolenin.

Adagloxad Simolenin For Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, breast cancer is placed second on the list of common diseases worldwide. Among breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) exhibits the worst clinical outcomes, with more than 30% of early-stage patients developing relapses during the first 2–3 years from diagnosis. With its unique properties, Adagloxad simolenin, a first-in-class active immunotherapy in development for TNBC, holds great promise in addressing this unmet medical need.

Adagloxad simolenin (formerly OBI-822) is exclusively licensed to OBI from Merck & Co. (Merck Sharp & Dohme, MSD). It is a conjugate of Globo H and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) conducted two Phase I studies on relapsed prostate cancer and metastatic breast cancer patients. These trials revealed that Adagloxad simolenin was a safe treatment option and could induce a strong immune response against cancer cells. Furthermore, OBI continues the phase II trial with breast cancer patients, with immune response correlated with prolong survival.