Oncodesign and Navigo End Radiotheranostics Collaboration

DIJON, France – Oncodesign Precision Medicine (OPM) and Navigo Proteins GmbH have officially terminated their collaboration to develop advanced radiotheranostic agents, a decision made just months after the partnership was announced in May 2024. The two biopharmaceutical companies stated the move was mutual, stemming from a strategic reassessment of research priorities and resource optimization.

The partnership was initially forged to combine OPM's expertise in tumor targeting with Navigo's proprietary Affilin® technology platform. Their shared ambition was to discover and develop novel radiotheranostic drugs—a cutting-edge class of "search-and-destroy" cancer therapies—designed to be more precise and effective against resistant and metastatic cancers. However, the program has been curtailed, with both companies now planning to pursue their objectives independently.

In a joint announcement, the companies described the termination as a "standard prioritization process inherent in advanced research programs." This pivot underscores the high-risk, high-reward nature of oncology research, where early-stage collaborations are frequently re-evaluated based on initial data, timelines, and the potential for success.

A Strategic Shift After Early Hurdles

The decision to part ways appears rooted in the practical realities of drug discovery. Philippe Genne, CEO of Oncodesign Precision Medicine, alluded to specific difficulties encountered in the collaboration's early stages. "This collaboration has enabled us to explore relevant Affilin® leads, even if our collaboration has not demonstrated the expected potential within the program timelines due to the challenges encountered with the first targets selected," he stated.

This comment suggests that while the underlying technology from both sides was promising, the initial biological targets chosen for the new drugs did not yield the desired results quickly enough. In the fast-paced biopharma industry, where capital and time are finite, companies must continuously optimize their R&D pipelines, often making tough decisions to shelve programs that don't meet predefined milestones. Such decisions are not necessarily failures, but rather calculated moves to redirect resources toward more promising avenues.

Despite the split, the tone from both sides remains positive and professional, emphasizing a continued mutual respect. Genne extended warm thanks to the Navigo team for the "quality of the work accomplished," emphasizing that the relationship "remains excellent."

Henning Afflerbach, CEO of Navigo Proteins GmbH, reciprocated the sentiment. "We have enjoyed working with OPM and maintain a strong mutual appreciation for their core expertise," he said. "We wish our partner OPM all the best for the future and remain open to discussions when new opportunities arise."

Oncodesign Doubles Down on Its Internal Pipeline

For Oncodesign Precision Medicine, the termination allows the company to refocus its resources on its established internal technology platforms and development programs. The Dijon-based firm, which was founded in 2022 and employs 14 people, is built on a three-pronged strategy for tackling resistant and metastatic cancers.

The first pillar is its Nanocyclix® platform, which designs and selects next-generation kinase inhibitors. Kinases are enzymes that act as cellular switches, and their malfunction is a common driver of cancer growth and other diseases. OPM has already produced two clinical-stage assets from this platform:
* OPM-101, aimed at chronic immuno-inflammatory digestive diseases and immuno-oncology. It has successfully completed a Phase I trial in healthy volunteers, showing a significant therapeutic margin and an absence of toxicity.
* OPM-201, a treatment for Parkinson's disease initially licensed to pharmaceutical giant Servier. After completing its own Phase I trial in healthy volunteers, the asset was reintegrated into OPM's portfolio, giving the company full control over its future development.

The company's second platform is OncoSNIPER, which uses artificial intelligence to identify and validate new therapeutic targets. This AI-driven approach is designed to accelerate the earliest, and often most challenging, phase of drug discovery while reducing costs. OPM currently has a partnership with Servier to use OncoSNIPER to find new targets in pancreatic cancer, one of an area with immense unmet medical need.

The third platform, PROMETHE®, is directly related to the now-dissolved partnership's goals. It is dedicated to designing and selecting radiolabeled biological molecules for systemic radiotherapy. Even with the Navigo collaboration ending, OPM is not abandoning this field. The company confirmed that its COMETE program (moleCular radiOtherapy for METastatic Colorectal and gastric cancErs) is moving forward. This project, a collaboration with local partners in Dijon including the CGFL cancer center and the University of Burgundy's Institute of Molecular Chemistry, aims to develop a radiotheranostic candidate through preclinical studies. OPM stated it will now "evaluate other promising vectorization technologies" to advance the program.

Navigo Proteins Forges Ahead with Affilin® Technology

Navigo Proteins, based in Halle, Germany, will also continue its work in the radiotheranostics space independently. The company plans to leverage its Affilin® and HEAD® platform technologies, combined with AI-assisted protein design, to develop treatments specifically targeting gastric cancers. Affilins® are small, highly stable proteins engineered to bind to specific targets with high affinity, making them ideal candidates for delivering therapeutic payloads like radiation directly to tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue.

Navigo's stated focus is on an "accelerated pathway into early testing in human patients," suggesting a commitment to translating its research into clinical applications as efficiently as possible. The end of the OPM partnership allows Navigo to pursue this strategy with full autonomy, focusing on the targets and indications it deems most promising for its proprietary technology.

The mutual termination highlights a common dynamic in biotechnology: partnerships are vital for pooling expertise and innovation, but they must also be agile. When a specific approach doesn't meet expectations within a set timeframe, a strategic pivot can be more valuable for both parties than continuing down a challenging path. Both Oncodesign Precision Medicine and Navigo Proteins are now free to redeploy their specialized expertise and capital toward their core internal programs, albeit on separate tracks.