Symphogen in brief
Symphogen is developing next-generation antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. We are dedicated to bringing truly innovative oncology products to the market, creating optimally selected antibody mixtures that address multiple oncology targets in a single drug product.
A symphony of antibodies
If diseases were caused only by a single target they would be relatively easy to treat. Such diseases could be ideally suited for treatment with a single monoclonal antibody which would be able to knock out the disease-causing target.
However, disease is complex, and cancer is no exception. Not only are multiple oncogenes involved in their cause, but once therapies have been administered, further biological mechanisms may be triggered, often resulting in acquired resistance to the therapy provided, and a poor outcome for the patient.
Such complex diseases require a novel approach. Because they involve multiple oncogenes, any therapy must be able to hit multiple targets simultaneously. That’s why a mixture of antibodies is required, or as we like to describe it, a ‘symphony of antibodies’. And that’s why we’re called Symphogen – we’re leading the way in the development of antibody mixtures as novel therapies for complex diseases.
Symphogen today
Symphogen’s lead oncology product, Sym004, was out-licensed to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2012 following generation of clinical data from expansion cohorts of our Phase 1/2 study in patients with advanced colorectal cancer and a Phase 2 study in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Symphogen also applies its antibody mixtures technology in infectious disease through strategic partnerships. The company has two programs in clinical development.
Symphogen’s productive technology suite - capable of identifying, selecting and manufacturing carefully selected antibody mixtures – fuels the company’s innovative pipeline for the future. Symphogen has also established the technologies and know-how to identify, produce and characterize mAb mixtures as single drug products using standard large-scale biological manufacturing techniques.
To date, Symphogen has raised EUR 249 million in equity capital from major international investors including Novo A/S, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and PKA. The company today employs 90 people, the majority of whom are based at its facilities in Copenhagen.
