Collaborations are vital to the success of our business. To drive our proprietary programs forward, we have established alliances with leading academic, governmental and pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies.
Our Collaboration Partners:
In May 2018, we signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Under the terms of the CRADA, we will collaborate with both the NCI and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology to conduct a randomized, controlled clinical trial testing the addition of uproleselan to a standard Cytarabine/Daunorubicin regimen (7&3) in older adults with previously untreated AML who are eligible for intensive chemotherapy. The primary endpoint will be overall survival, with a planned interim analysis based on event-free survival (EFS) after the first 250 patients have been enrolled in the study. Under the terms of the CRADA, the NCI may fund additional research, including clinical trials of pediatric patients with AML as well as preclinical experiments and clinical trials evaluating alternative chemotherapy regimens. We will supply uproleselan and provide financial support to augment data analysis and monitoring for the Phase 3 program.
We have had a longstanding partnership with Mater Research Institute—The University of Queensland (MRI-UQ) that provides support of their translational research activities aimed at elucidating the role of E-selectin within the bone marrow microenvironment. Through this collaboration, we have shown that E-selectin plays a crucial role within the vascular niche regulating hematopoietic stem cell dormancy, self-renewal and chemoresistance (Nature Medicine, 2012) and that by antagonizing E-selectin with uproleselan, leukemic stem cells can be sensitized to chemotherapy, potentially improving clinical outcomes for patients.
Since 2015, we have had an ongoing research collaboration with Dr. Michael Andreeff, Professor of Medicine, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, directed at understanding the role of uproleselan and GMI-1359 on micro-environment-mediated drug resistance. Through this collaboration, we have a greater understanding of the mechanism of action for our drug candidates and have identified strategies to disrupt underlying environmental-mediated resistant mechanisms and augment the anti-leukemic effects of chemotherapy in AML, including in patients with FLT3-ITD mutations.
In January 2020, we signed an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with Apollomics for the development and commercialization of uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, also known as Greater China. Under the terms of the agreement, Apollomics will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization in Greater China. The companies will also collaborate to advance the preclinical and clinical development of GMI-1687, a highly potent, subcutaneous E-selectin antagonist with broad clinical potential. Subject to the terms of the agreement, GlycoMimetics received an upfront cash payment of $9 million and will be eligible to receive potential milestone payments totaling approximately $180 million, as well as tiered royalties on net sales. Apollomics will be responsible for all costs related to development, regulatory approvals, and commercialization activities for uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Greater China. GlycoMimetics retains all rights for both compounds in the rest of the world.
We have had a longstanding research collaboration with the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that provides support for both nonclinical and clinical studies directed at defining pathways of cell adhesion mediated chemoresistance in AML. Through this collaboration, we have identified several biomarkers of chemoresistance that may prove to be particularly useful to guide the clinical development of uproleselan.
Clinically unapparent bone marrow (BM) micrometastases are present at the time of diagnosis in many patients with early-stage breast cancer. These micrometastases can survive in the face of adjuvant therapy and lay dormant for years before they become proliferative, causing overt and incurable metastatic bone disease. Evidence suggests that the BM microenvironment protects these cells from apoptosis during this period of dormancy. In collaboration with the team at the Duke University’s Duke Cancer Institute, we are assessing the ability of GMI-1359, a dual function CXCR4/E-selectin antagonist, to mobilize these dormant cancer cells into the blood and retain there for extended periods of time, where they will become vulnerable to programmed cell death or cytotoxic, hormonal and/or immune therapies. A Phase Ib study of GMI-1359 in high risk, breast cancer patients with persistent bone micrometastases is currently ongoing. This statement does not constitute an endorsement of any GlycoMimetics’ commercial product or service by Duke University, Duke University’s Duke Cancer Institute or Principal Investigator at Duke University who is directing the conduct of this study.
How to Partner with Us:
We will continue to place an important emphasis on partnerships for our future growth strategy. We are actively exploring collaborations that will augment our core expertise in “glycomimetic” product development.
If you are interested in partnering with us, please email: bd@glycomimetics.com