Prestige Biopharma and Imagion Biosystems Sign an MOU, Developing Early Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis Platform

Prestige Biopharma, a global biopharmaceutical company specializing in antibody therapeutics (KRX: 950210, CEO: Soyeon Park), announced on August 11 that it has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with U.S.-based medical imaging company Imagion Biosystems (CEO: Isaac Bright) to jointly develop an early detection platform for pancreatic cancer.

Under the agreement, Prestige Biopharma will provide PAUF-based antibodies, while Imagion Biosystems will contribute its nano-imaging detection technology to develop a platform capable of detecting pancreatic cancer at an early stage. Through this collaboration, Prestige Biopharma plans to strengthen its pancreatic cancer early detection strategy by combining imaging diagnostics with its ongoing diagnostic kit development program.

This collaboration marks the first partnership in Korea between an imaging diagnostics company and an antibody therapeutics developer aimed at early cancer detection. The two companies will integrate Prestige Biopharma’s proprietary PAUF (Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Up-regulated Factor) target, which is overexpressed in more than 80% of pancreatic cancer patients, with Imagion’s nano-based imaging technology to create an advanced early detection platform.

The platform is designed to utilize nanoparticle-labeled antibodies capable of detecting tumors as small as one-thousandth the size of a red blood cell. After the PAUF-targeting antibodies are administered, imaging systems analyze the signals generated by the nanoparticles to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer. Prestige Biopharma plans to subsequently treat patients with its anti-PAUF antibody drug candidate, PBP1510, which neutralizes PAUF and suppresses tumor growth, thereby improving patient survival outcomes.

Prestige Biopharma and Imagion Biosystems aim to proactively expand into the pancreatic cancer diagnostics market by commercializing the early detection platform. The collaboration is also expected to create synergies in the U.S. market through enhanced business networking and increased awareness of early pancreatic cancer detection. The company ultimately aims to position itself as the world’s first specialized pancreatic cancer treatment company with both diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities.

Pancreatic cancer, often referred to as a “silent cancer,” lacks effective early diagnostic methods, with approximately 80% of patients being diagnosed at stage IV. Even the commonly used tumor marker CA19-9 has limited diagnostic accuracy for pancreatic cancer. The new platform aims to improve early detection by identifying PAUF proteins in imaging scans using nano-imaging technology combined with anti-PAUF antibodies.

Imagion Biosystems, headquartered in San Diego, develops innovative medical imaging technologies for detecting various cancers using biocompatible nanoparticles. Its proprietary MagSense Technology enables precise detection of cancer cells through nanoparticle-based imaging. The company is also applying artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to enhance medical imaging analysis. Recently, Imagion initiated clinical trials using HER2-targeted imaging for breast cancer detection and is utilizing Prestige Biopharma’s HD201 as a targeted therapy.

Soyeon Park, Chairwoman of Prestige Biopharma, stated, “This MOU represents an important step toward detecting pancreatic cancer early through imaging of PAUF protein expression, similar to how HER2 is used as a biomarker for breast cancer detection. The development of an integrated platform that combines imaging diagnostics, diagnostic kits, and our antibody drug candidate PBP1510 completes a major blueprint for building a comprehensive pancreatic cancer treatment ecosystem at the group level.”

Source: Maeil Safety Newspaper (idsn.co.kr)