[ET Net News Agency, 18 October 2019] CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited (01093) said
that humanized connexin 43 (Cx43) monoclonal antibody (ALMB-0168), a product candidate
independently developed by its subsidiary AlaMab Therapeutics Inc., was granted rare
paediatric disease designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
treatment of osteosarcoma. It represents another designation of ALMB-0168 in addition to
the orphan-drug designation granted by the U.S. FDA in September 2019.
ALMB-0168 is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody agonist for hemichannel Cx43
membrane protein. Through the activation of Cx43 protein to release tumour-inhibiting
cytokines, ALMB-0168 has shown to effectively inhibit osteosarcoma and bone metastasis in
pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo animal studies. (RC)