About Wilex AG

WILEX is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel cancer therapies for the treatment of various tumors, including renal, pancreatic and breast cancer. Therapies are based on biologic targets directly connected to cancer progression and pathogenesis in order to provide effective and well-tolerated treatment and enhance patients' quality of life.

The company has a portfolio of cancer drug candidates ranging from research to late-stage clinical development. The company has two therapeutic platforms: antibodies, which specifically target the tumor cells, and small molecules, which block metastasis and primary tumor growth.

Currently, WILEX has three drug candidates in clinical development. The lead compound cG250 or WX-G250 (preliminary trade name RENCAREX^®) – a targeted antibody therapy for the treatment of solid tumors – is at the moment in a pivotal clinical Phase III trial as an adjuvant treatment of non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The company’s non-cytotoxic uPA and serine protease inhibitors WX-UK1 and WX-671, which are in clinical development, are assigned for the anti-metastatic treatment of breast cancer and other solid tumors. There are currently two projects in the company’s preclinical research pipeline.

WILEX was founded in 1997 by a team of doctors and clinical oncologists from the Technical University of Munich.

Table 1. Product pipeline of Wilex AG

CA9-SCAN is a radioactively labelled form of the antibody WX-G250. The labelled antibody WX-G250 targets clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and will accumulate in the tumor tissue. This accumulation can be visualized by means of Positron Emission Tomography (PET). An earlier feasibility study found that a positive result with CA9-SCAN could be confirmed as ccRCC in 100% of cases (positive predictive value). CA9-SCAN could determine whether the patient had ccRCC before surgery and subsequent pathology. Therefore, CA9-SCAN should significantly improve and simplify treatment planning for patients suspected of having kidney cancer. In case of a negative result, 90% of the cases were diagnosed as no ccRCC. The company is not aware of imaging techniques available with comparable specificity and sensitivity.