In October 2018, Endocyte was acquired by Switzerland based Novartis, SIR-involced in its early years, Endocyte develops receptor-targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's initial focus is on a receptor for the vitamin folic acid, which is often over-expressed on cancer cells. By attaching drugs to folic acid, the vitamin acts like a Trojan Horse to target and deliver drugs to cancer cells, which could allow higher and more effective doses to be given with reduced side effects. The firm is focused on vitamin based drug targeting and delivery systems. Vitamins are essential components for specific biological cellular functions. The company provides EC17, a folate-targeted hapten therapy drug to treat metastatic renal and ovarian cancer; EC145, a folate-targeted chemotherapeutic conjugate to treat various tumors, including cancers of the breast, lung, and blood; EC0225, a targeted chemotherapy drug; BMS753493, a folate-targeted anti-cancer therapy drug; EC0434 to target folate receptor positive tumors; and EC0305, an anti-cancer therapy drug. It also offers EC0286, a folate-targeted small molecule for the treatment of inflammatory diseases; and EC20, a folate-targeted radiopharmaceutical imaging agent to identify folate-receptor positive cancers.
