Ensol Biosciences said on the 24th that it will develop peptide (protein fragment) radiopharmaceuticals. This involves loading a radioactive isotope onto a peptide that binds to specific cancer cells to treat cancer. When administered to a patient, it emits radiation to the cancer cells and destroys the tumor tissue.
Ensol Biosciences signed a joint development agreement with Saehan Industry Co., Ltd. for this purpose. Ensol Biosciences will provide the peptide D1K, which targets non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Saehan Industry will jointly lead clinical development and commercialization.
Recently, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) have been developed to treat various cancers. This is a technology that destroys cancer cells by attaching a drug to an antibody with a linker. The linker carries the drug and enables its release inside cancer cells. Therefore, the precision of the linker limits ADC efficacy and safety.
Peptide radiopharmaceuticals do not require a separate linker-cleavage step after delivery to cancer cells. This is because the radiation energy directly destroys the DNA of nearby cancer cells. Kim Hye-jin, CEO of Ensol Biosciences, said, "It can supplement the limitations of existing ADCs."