APOMAB^® is a monoclonal antibody that recognises a target protein that becomes visible during cancer cell death. The specific association of the APOMAB^® monoclonal antibody with dying and dead cancer cells is the underlying basis for the proposed applications of the technology, which potentially include products that locate cancer in the body, monitor the body’s response to anticancer treatment, and treat cancer itself.

Generally, the equipment used for diagnostic imaging of cancer is used for general anatomical imaging. Current methods do not specifically detect cancer nor can they locate small metastates. The search for effective, cancer-specific diagnostic technologies remains a major challenge.

As an indication of the importance of this need, in 2006, the United States Department of Health & Human Services announced a new federal health initiative to improve cancer therapy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Oncology Biomarker Qualification Initiative (QBQI), an agreement to collaborate on improving the development of cancer therapies and the outcomes for cancer patients through biomarker development and evaluation. The QBQI will address questions such as how particular biomarkers can be used to assess, after one or two treatments, if a patient’s tumour is responding to treatment.

The efficacy of APOMAB^® as a therapeutic agent relies on its potential to focus cell destruction to those cells adjacent to the dying and dead cancer cells targeted by APOMAB^®. In order to increase the number of dying cancer cells (and enhance the target cell population), APOMAB^® may be used in combination with selected chemotherapy drugs. As an anticancer therapy, APOMAB^® offers the potential for increased treatment efficacy and reduced systemic side effects. Importantly, APOMAB^® therapy may be applicable to a wide range of cancers including such important diseases as breast cancer and lung cancer.