Created by the recent merger of TGF-beta RNA therapeutics developer Oncotelic and PoinTR – a cluster computer vision empowered blockchain company, a new immuno-oncology company Mateon has been created. Mateon is dedicated to the development of first in class RNA therapeutics and is particularly focussing on the development of OT-101, a TGF-Beta antisense drug candidate and a potential solution for the global Covid-19 outbreak.
Dr Vuong Trieu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mateon stated:
“We are excited about our platform for rapid response against viral epidemics and look forward to working with GMP to further expand on that platform in the US and China.”
In a press release the team noted that OT-101 continued to show significant activity against coronaviruses and in the new testing results, two additional therapeutic oligonucleotides designed to target COVID-19 also demonstrated potent antiviral activity.
“The candidates were all designed to work synergistically to avoid resistant mutations frequently seen with viral infections. OT-101 and the other candidates work by inhibiting virus binding to its target, thereby stopping the virus from replicating itself and stopping viral-induced pneumonia, which often leads to patient complications. The results of the new studies came through joint efforts between Mateon and its partner, Golden Mountain Partners, LLC (GMP), which have teamed up to build an international world-class program for rapid response against COVID-19 and future epidemics.”
Mateon has begun preparations to submit an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for OT-101 against COVID-19 to expedite testing in COVID-19 patients.
The collaborative effort was able to manufacture and test multiple new therapeutic drug candidates within weeks from the time of viral sequencing. The effort was built on the companies experience with the specific antisense backbone and its well-described safety profile. OT-101 is ready to move into clinical testing in COVID-19 patients and the new candidates can be ready shortly thereafter. The anti-sense program that Mateon has developed has the potential to go from concept to clinic in months, rather than years, which is highly suitable as a rapid response to pandemics.
The company’s self-immunization protocol (SIP©) is based on a novel and proprietary sequential treatment of cancers with OT-101 (antisense against TGF-β2) and chemotherapies. The use of OT-101 lifts the suppression of the patient’s immune cells around the cancer tissue, providing the foundation for effective initial priming, which is critical for a successful immune response. The subsequent chemotherapy results in the release of neoantigens that result in a robust boost of the immune response, which they feel could perhaps solve the bodies’ immune response to Covid-19.
