Since the introduction of Rituximab (Rituxan®, Genentech, Biogen Idec) in 1997, monoclonal antibodies have emerged as the most promising new class of therapeutics in oncology. Several products have reached blockbuster proportions with sales of more than USD 1 billion, and overall monoclonal antibody sales are projected to grow at 17% per annum until 2010, much higher than the 10% per annum rate of the cancer therapeutics market in general.

Monoclonal antibodies have several advantages in comparison to alternative therapeutic agents (e.g. small compounds, chemotherapeutics and vaccines) which make them attractive for the development of novel cancer therapeutics:

• They can readily be combined with standard chemo- and radiotherapy;
• Development times are shorter;
• Their success rate in clinical trials is significantly higher than for small molecule drugs;
• The regulatory requirements are clearly defined; and
• They have high target specificity and therefore predictable toxicity profiles.

These factors translate to lower development costs and a faster time to market.

With the market for monoclonal antibody therapeutics already prepared, GANYMED is developing a set of next generation cancer antibody therapies that are far more specific than the current generation of solid cancer antibody therapeutics.