15 August 2018 - - US-based drugmaker Sutro Biopharma, Inc., and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, or LLS, are partnering to develop STRO-001, Sutro's CD74-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, to treat relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the principals said.

CD74 is a protein highly expressed in B-cell malignancies such as myeloma and lymphoma.

LLS has agreed to contribute clinical development funding for STRO-001, Sutro's first internally-developed product candidate, through its Therapy Acceleration Program, which forges collaborations with biotechnology companies to help bring innovative therapies to patients faster.

Sutro intends to use the funding for a Phase 1 study, initiated in April of this year, to evaluate STRO-001 for treating multiple myeloma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma.

The clinical trial is currently open and enrolling patients at city of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA; Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Texas Oncology, Austin; Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, Aurora, CO; and Virginia Cancer Specialists in Fairfax. Sutro plans to add more sites later this year.

The study's primary outcome measures are safety and tolerability of STRO-001 in dose escalation, and preliminary anti-tumor activity in dose expansion. This is the first clinical trial on a product candidate created with cell-free protein synthesis.

Sutro is obligated to make payments to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society based on pre-specified late-stage clinical development, regulatory and commercialization milestones.

Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.