multimmune GmbH

multimmune GmbH is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company which has developed a unique and proprietary technology platform on the basis of the founding scientists' (Professor Gabriele Multhoff, Dr Claus Botzler) discovery that cell surface-bound Hsp70 is uniquely expressed on a large proportion of cancers (~50-75%), but not on healthy cells. This makes this form of Hsp70 an excellent and broadly-applicable molecule on which to base the development of innovative therapeutics and diagnostics (theranostics). Based on its discovery of membrane Hsp70, multimmune has succeeded in developing a powerful pipeline of cancer therapeutics. ENKASTIM allows, for the first time, a unique and specific activation of human natural killer (NK) cells which are programmed to recognise and kill cancers expressing membrane Hsp70 via the release of a cytotoxic molecule called granzyme B. These cells destroy tumors and metastases that are invisible to the cell killing (cytolytic) consequences of more conventional T cell-based immunotherapies. Hsp70-expressing tumors can also be targeted using therapeutics based on a unique monoclonal antibody which can detect the membrane form of Hsp70. multimmune's lead diagnostic candidate is the patented and CE-marked Hsp70-exo enzyme immunoassy (ELISA) which detects lipid-associated Hsp70 in the peripheral circulation, levels of which can be used to detect the presence of tumors expressing membrane Hsp70, as well as monitoring therapeutic response and disease recurrence.