Orano Med Partners with UK's  Orbit Discovery to Develop Therapies for Cancer Cells

Orano Med is developing Lead-212 (212Pb) Targeted Alpha Therapy that will enhance the cytotoxic activity on cancer cells while minimising toxicity to nearby healthy cells 

French-US origin biotechnology company Orano Med has partnered with UK-based Orbit Discovery to develop Peptide Receptor Radionuclide therapies for cancer cells and create new radiopharmaceuticals.

The companies, however, did not disclose the financial details. The partnership aims to form a new standard of care for cancer patients by combining their technologies.

Reportedly, the French-US-based company is developing Lead-212 (212Pb) Targeted Alpha Therapy, a method which combines the ability of biological molecules such as peptides to target cancer cells with the short-range cell-killing capabilities of alpha-emitting radioisotopes. This process further enhances the cytotoxic activity on cancer cells while minimising toxicity to nearby healthy cells.

As per the partnership deal, Orbit will contribute its expertise in peptide ligand discovery to the table. The collaboration will further utilise Orbit's bead-based peptide display technology to identify peptide candidates specific to tumour-associated targets.

Following this, Orano Med will take charge of developing the peptides for clinical purposes after their conjugation with lead-212, an alpha emitter isotope for use in radioligand therapy.

Founded in 2003, the French-US biotechnology company, Orano Med is known for developing lead-212 (212Pb) targeted alpha therapy against cancer. Moreover, the company has expertise in 212Pb chemistry and conjugation technology and can radiolabel 212Pb to various biological vectors, such as peptides and antibodies, that target specific tumours.

Currently, Orano Med has several ongoing clinical trials and collaborations with academic and industrial partners to advance its pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals.

Established in 2015, UK's Orbit Discovery, on the other hand, specialises in the discovery of peptides and other small biological molecules for various diseases. The biotechnology company uses a specific peptide display platform that allows for high-throughput screening of chemical space and functional screening using both bead-based technologies and microfluidics.