TME Pharma, formerly NOXXON Pharma, is a biotechnology company founded in 1997 in Berlin, Germany which specialises on cancer treatment by targeting the tumor microenvironment. TME Pharma N.V. is listed on Euronext Growth, Paris (ALTME)and is a member of the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, Verband forschender Arzneimittelhersteller (vfa).
TME Pharma develops drugs using technology yielding L-RNA molecules, which are of mirror-image configuration compared to naturally occurring D-RNA molecules. The company calls these agents Spiegelmers,[2][3] from Spiegel, the German word for "mirror."
The L-RNA are resistant to the natural RNA nuclease enzymes.[4]
Products
Some Spiegelmer candidates were in clinical trials.
A Spiegelmer (NOX-A12, olaptesed pegol) was under development as a combination therapy for a number of cancer indications. NOX-A12 targets CXCL12 (C-X-C Chemokine Ligand 12), a key chemokine protein. Favorable results were reported in October 2018 during the 4th CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference in New York, NY, USA.[5][6][7][8]
A different Spiegelmer (NOX-E36, emapticap pegol) was tested for the treatment of progressive diabetic nephropathy.[9] Favorable results were reported in June 2014 in a company press release.[10] NOX-E36 targets MCP-1, also called CCL2.[4]
A third Spiegelmer (NOX-H94, lexaptepid pegol) was in a clinical trial for the treatment of anemia of chronic disease.[11][12]
^Vater A, Klussmann S (March 2003). "Toward third-generation aptamers: Spiegelmers and their therapeutic prospects". Curr Opin Drug Discov Dev. 6 (2): 253–61. PMID12669461.
^Eulberg D; et al. (2006), "Spiegelmers for Therapeutic Applications", The Aptamer Handbook (in German), WILEY-VCH, pp. 417–42, ISBN3-527-31059-2
^Clinical trial number NCT03168139 for "Olaptesed (NOX-A12) Alone and in Combination With Pembrolizumab in Colorectal and Pancreatic Cancer" at ClinicalTrials.gov
^Clinical trial number NCT01521533 for "NOX-A12 in Combination With Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma" at ClinicalTrials.gov
^Clinical trial number NCT01486797 for "NOX-A12 in Combination With Bendamustine and Rituximab in Relapsed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia" at ClinicalTrials.gov
