boston tides presentation, page-6

Hi Tony,
The slide show for the Boston conference adds some additional pieces to the jigsaw puzzle. One piece relates to the collaboration with Genentech.

We always knew that the collaboration centred upon "cell penetration activity for application to delivery across the blood-brain barrier". In other words a CPP which would deliver a Genentech therapeutic cargo across the BBB. The target, however, was never defined and remains confidential.

Slide 55 provides a clue. It sets out the disease pathways addressable with phylomers and where the four collaborations fit into the big picture. Genentech is listed in the Tissue/Organ Targeting box. Sounds like a very large box which could be anything, except in Genentech's case, it has to be across the BBB which provides a smaller range of targets. How many organs are across the blood-brain barrier? Logically speaking, it would be the brain! Okay probably only stated the obvious so far.

If you look at the slide we know its probably not directly related to cancer or inflammation.

Ryan Watts and his team who engineered the bispecific transferrin receptor antibody are working on neuro degenerative diseases. "Right now [Genentech are] focussed on several neuro degenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease...".

There are good odds that BEN_5000 is targeting the delivery of a Genentech antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Why, when Genentech have received international acclamation for their pioneering bispecific transferrin receptor antibody? Simply because BEN and/or the second generation CPPs don't use the problematic transferrin receptor pathway.

Refer my post of 19 May;
"[Ryan] Watts pointed out that other transcytosis pathways might work better than the transferrin receptor."

What pathways do BEN and/or the second generation CPPs use? Its partly referenced in the slide show under Pathogenic Phylomer Libraries, slide 37.

"Nature has solved the problem of cell penetration and endosomal escape" and "invasive pathogens exploit an incredible variety of routes for cell entry".

Discussions in the biotechnology space can apparently take a long time; importantly they are still in discussion about the next steps. Perhaps time in discussion is directly proportional to the size of the deal.

Wayne