News Stories - Abceutics, Inc. and Balthasar Lab

Balthasar lab receives $2.1 million grant to prevent toxic side effects of leukemia treatment

Researchers in the University at Buffalo Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences have received a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to advance the safety and effectiveness of targeted drugs that treat acute myeloid leukemia…
January 29, 2023

Origins of new autoimmune treatments found in UB lab

Joseph Balthasar, David and Jane Chu Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and Development. ... In December 2021 — nearly two decades after Balthasar’s initial…
December 14, 2022

Anticancer toxins study wins grant

Cancer treatments are effective at destroying tumors, but they are also harmful to healthy cells. To reduce unwanted toxicity, University at Buffalo professor Joseph Balthasar recently…
July 8,2022

Four UB life sciences spinoffs receive new NIH funding

The companies are:. Joseph Balthasar is co-founder of Abceutics. Photo: Douglas Levere. ... Balthasar is David and Jane Chu Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and Development, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical…
December 9, 2021

UB receives $1.8 million grant to make cancer treatments less toxic

Joseph Balthasar, David and Jane Chu Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and Development. ... Balthasar’s lab that may prevent the entry of anticancer drug molecules into…
August 10, 2021

Center for Protein Therapeutics awards $1.2 million for drug research

Joseph Balthasar, professor and director. Center for Protein Therapeutics. UB’s Center for Protein Therapeutics has awarded $1.2 million to researchers to advance development of next-generation protein-based drugs ... Balthasar, director of the Center…
September 29, 2020

UB professor awarded $1.8 million grant to improve targeted therapies against solid tumors

The study builds off of prior research conducted by recent UB graduates from Balthasar’s lab, including Lubna Abuqayyas, Frank Engler and Ryan Polli. ... The approaches may be used to improve current therapies for all cancers that develop as solid…
July 10, 2020

Center for Protein Therapeutics awards $1 million for drug research

Joseph Balthasar, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and executive director of research initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. ... The round of projects funded for 2019-20 include:. Three awards to…
October 4, 2019

UB lands $1.8M grant to test new seek-and-destroy cancer treatment

Joseph Balthasar, professor and associate dean for research. School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. ... The study, “Catch and Release Immunotoxins: CAR-Bombs for Cancer,” is led by Joseph Balthasar, professor and associate dean for research…
February 2, 2017

AIDE Technology – Improving mAb and ADC within-tumor distribution

Transient Inhibition of Trastuzumab-Tumor Binding to Overcome the "Binding-Site Barrier" and Improve the Efficacy of a Trastuzumab-Gelonin Immunotoxin. Chen P, Bordeau BM, Zhang Y, Balthasar JP. Mol Cancer Ther. 2022 Oct 7;21(10):1573-1582. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0192. PMID: 35930739

Development and Evaluation of Competitive Inhibitors of Trastuzumab-HER2 Binding to Bypass the Binding-Site Barrier. Bordeau BM, Abuqayyas L, Nguyen TD, Chen P, Balthasar JP. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Feb 18;13:837744. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.837744. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35250584

Transient Competitive Inhibition Bypasses the Binding Site Barrier to Improve Tumor Penetration of Trastuzumab and Enhance T-DM1 Efficacy. Bordeau BM, Yang Y, Balthasar JP. Cancer Res. 2021 Aug 1;81(15):4145-4154. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3822. Epub 2021 Mar 16. PMID: 33727230

Strategies to enhance monoclonal antibody uptake and distribution in solid tumors. Bordeau BM, Balthasar JP. Cancer Biol Med. 2021 Aug 15;18(3):649-64. doi: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2020.0704. PMID: 35979855

Targeted Delivery of Endosomal Escape Agents – Improving immunotoxin potency and efficacy

Cell Penetrating Peptides Conjugated to Anti-Carcinoembryonic Antigen "Catch-and-Release" Monoclonal Antibodies Alter Plasma and Tissue Pharmacokinetics in Colorectal Cancer Xenograft Mice. Polli JR, Balthasar JP. Bioconjug Chem. 2022 Aug 17;33(8):1456-1466. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00152. Epub 2022 Jul 22. PMID: 35867869

Targeted Delivery of Endosomal Escape Peptides to Enhance Immunotoxin Potency and Anti-cancer Efficacy. Polli JR, Chen P, Bordeau BM, Balthasar JP. AAPS J. 2022 Mar 25;24(3):47. doi: 10.1208/s12248-022-00698-x. PMID: 35338415

Payload-Binding Selectivity Enhancers – Increasing the therapeutic index of ADCs

Payload-binding Fab fragments increase the therapeutic index of MMAE antibody-drug conjugates. Bordeau BM, Nguyen TD, Polli JR, Chen P, Balthasar JP. Mol Cancer Ther. 2023 Jan 31:MCT-22-0440. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0440

Use of Payload Binding Selectivity Enhancers to Improve Therapeutic Index of Maytansinoid-Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Nguyen TD, Bordeau BM, Balthasar JP. Mol Cancer Therapeutics, 2023, in review.

Mechanisms of ADC Toxicity and Strategies to Increase ADC Tolerability. Nguyen TD, Bordeau BM, Balthasar JP. Cancers. 2023; 15(3):713. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030713

Half-life Extension Strategies – Improving the dosing convenience of protein therapeutics

Half-life extension and biodistribution modulation of biotherapeutics via red blood cell hitch-hiking with novel anti-band 3 single-domain antibodies. Nguyen TD, Bordeau BM, Zhang Y, Balthasar JP. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 475. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010475.