Biotechnology company Integral Molecular, which focuses on membrane proteins and antibodies, announced on Thursday that the first patient has been dosed with its out-licensed anti-Claudin 6 (CLDN6) bispecific antibody, CTIM-76, in a Phase 1 clinical trial by its licensing partner, Context Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CNTX).

This milestone is part of a Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion trial enrolling patients with advanced or metastatic ovarian, endometrial and testicular cancers.

CLDN6 is a structurally complex protein that is expressed in multiple cancers but absent from healthy tissue, making it an attractive drug target. However, targeting CLDN6 is challenging because numerous related proteins are present in healthy tissues.

Using its MPS Antibody Discovery platform, Integral Molecular isolated a lead molecule targeting a unique CLDN6 epitope to deliver potential best-in-class specificity compared with other molecules undergoing clinical development. Context Therapeutics is leading clinical development of CTIM-76 under a licensing agreement, following the successful completion of IND-enabling studies.