Tanabe Research Laboratories USA Inc (TRL) revealed on Thursday that it has successfully submitted its first Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug administration (FDA) to commence a phase I trial of its Antibody Drug Conjugate TR1801-ADC (MT- 8633) in patients with cMet positive solid tumours.

The company stated the PBDs (pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimer) were developed by its collaborative partner MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN), via its proprietary Spirogen technology and licensed to TRL.

PBDs (pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimer) are of an order of magnitude more potent than other warheads currently used with other ADCs and in the case of TR1801-ADC are linked to the antibody via a site-specific conjugation site.

cMet, also referred to as the hepatic growth factor receptor (HGFR), is a validated target expressed on a variety of tumor types including colorectal, NSCLC, gastric, esophageal, pancreatic, bile duct and many other cancers, according to the company.

Tanabe Research Laboratories USA Inc (TRL) is a California based research, development and clinical stage company and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharmaceutical Corporation.