Company: OCEA
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001641172-25-003155
Chunk: 2480

Company: Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 2480
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 to suppress antitumor immune
responses in a manner similar to PD-1. We believe OCX-909 may produce antitumor response particularly in GBM because CTLA-4 is expressed
in an exaggerated manner in many GBM tumors. If approved, we envision OCX-909 being potentially utilized as an alternative to surgery,
or in the treatment regimen in both the neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) settings for patients with GBM.

A
Primer on Antibodies, Antigens and Targeted Therapies

One
way the body’s immune system attacks foreign substances is by making large numbers of antibodies. An antibody is a protein that
binds to a specific antigen. An antigen is a molecule that is foreign to the human body; examples include viruses, bacteria, and tumor
cells.

Antibodies
have a distinct “Y” shape. Each upper arm of the “Y” is uniquely structured to bind to a specific part of a particular
antigen, called an epitope. Once bound to the antigen, an antibody triggers other parts of the immune system to destroy the cells containing
the antigen.

19

Monoclonal
antibodies, or mAbs, are antibodies that are designed and made as therapeutics to bind to specific antigen targets such as those present
in a particular type of cancer cell, virus, or other pathogen. When mAbs are used in this manner they are referred to as targeted therapies.
Therapeutic antibodies can also be engineered to recognize two epitopes simultaneously, making them “bispecific.” Bispecific
antibodies, or BsAbs, can bind directly to surface antigens to kill the cells containing the antigens and they can also help ramp up
the immune system to make it more effective against those cells.

The
Chitinase Biology Behind Our Oncology Project Candidates

Dr.
Elias has focused a significant amount of his research over the last decade on a gene family called the 18 glycosyl hydrolases and its
chitinase and chitinase-like proteins, or CLP. The chitinases and CLP both bind chitin, a polysaccharide that is a major structural component
of the exoskeletons of insects and other arthropods and the cell walls of fungi. The chitinases are true enzymes that cleave chitin into
smaller saccharide units. In contrast, the CLPs bind to but do not cle