ThromboGenics is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development
of biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of eye disease, vascular disease and cancer.
The company plans to show proof-of-concept for its products by taking them through to
completion of Phase II clinical trials and collaborate with experienced partners in
the pharmaceutical industry to leverage its expertise. Zillion spoke with CEO
Dr. Patrik De Haes.
ThromboGenics’ roots go back to the
early 1980s, when Professor Collen at
the University of Leuven developed
a drug for dissolving blood clots in
heart attack patients. “This was a
very innovative product that greatly
reduced the mortality rate. The
university licensed it to Genentech,
and invested part of the revenue in
the development of new products,
which in turn formed the basis for
the establishment of ThromboGenics
in 1998,” says Dr. De Haes, who has
over 20 years of experience in the
global healthcare industry, covering
product development, marketing
and general management. Previous
to joining ThromboGenics two year
ago, he held a position at Roche
Switzerland as Head of the Global
Insulin Infusionbusiness.
The company’s lead compound is
microplasmin. Microplasmin is a
stable form of plasmin, a naturally
occurring enzyme that dissolves
proteins that are involved in blood
clot formation. “ThromboGenics
started as a vascular-oriented
company, but these last two years we
are shifting towards ophthalmology,”
says Dr. De Haes. “The motivation
behind that is the discovery that the
protein formations involved in blood
clotting are similar to those that link
the vitreous to the retina in the eye.
This means that microplasmin has the
potential to be used in the treatment
of a number of important ophthalmic
indications.”
ThromboGenics, which is listed on
Euronext Brussels, has generated
both clinical and preclinical data
that have shown that microplasmin
has high potential to be used in a
range of indications, including as a
surgical adjunct for vitrectomy, i.e.
the removal of some or all of the
gel between the eye’s lens and the
retina. Microplasmin, as a proteolytic
enzyme, may be able to facilitate and
in some cases replace vitrectomy and
induce posterior vitreous detachment
(PVD) by breaking down the protein
structures which join the vitreous to
the retina. Microplasmin therefore
could offer a well-tolerated and
lower cost solution compared to
vitrectomy.
In addition the compound is a
potential non-surgical treatment for
a number of blinding eye diseases,
such as macular holes and diabetic
macular edema (DME). DME is a form
of diabetic retinopathy which is the
leading cause of vision loss in young
adults.
Microplasmin is currently in Phase
III clinical development for the nonsurgical
treatment of back of the eye
diseases, and is also being evaluated
in Phase II clinical development for
additional vitreoretinal indications
and as a potential therapy for
stroke.
ThromboGenics – which employs
around 50 people in its headquarters
in Belgium and its facilities in
Ireland and the US – is planning to
market microplasmin for ophthalmic
indications itself. The company
expects to be ready for launch in
2012. Dr. De Haes: “Part of the
funding for developing and marketing
microplasmin ourselves comes from
the royalties of the agreement we
made with Roche in 2008 involving
one of our other compounds, the
anti-cancer antibody TB-403.”
TB-403 (anti-PlGF) is a humanised
monoclonal antibody that blocks
the formation of the new blood
vessels required by solid tumours
to support growth. Earlier this year
ThromboGenics and its Swedish
partner BioInvent International
received a technology transfer success
fee of EUR 5 million from Roche, in
addition to the EUR 50 million the
two companies have already received.
The agreement can potentially lead to
payments of up to EUR 450 million
following completion of a series
of development and commercial
milestones, as well as double digit
royalties on future sales.
Another compound in ThromboGenics’
pipeline is anti-VPAC1, an antibody for
the treatment of thrombocytopenia,
which is a common, severe sideeffect
of chemotherapy used in
cancer patients, which results in a
reduced number of platelets in the
blood. The patient is then at risk of
bleeding and severe haemorrhage
because their low platelet count
prevents their blood from clotting
normally. This is a significant clinical
problem, which sometimes leads
to the discontinuation of cancer
treatment. The current standard
of care for chemotherapy-induced
thrombocytopenia is a blood platelet
transfusion. However, this only
offers a temporary solution and is
associated with further cost and
risks.
There is a clear need for a product
that is able to accelerate the patient’s
platelet production. Research by
ThromboGenics in cooperation
with the University of Leuven
has shown that the inhibition of
VPAC1-mediated signalling could
stimulate the production of platelets.
ThromboGenics was recently awarded
a grant of EUR 3.2 million for the
continued development of its anti-
VPAC1 from the Institute for the
promotion of Innovation by Science
and Technology in Flanders (IWT) and
is based on the successful completion
of a series of development milestones
over the next three years.
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