Breakthrough Anti-cancer Drug Candidates Targeting Potential Best-in-class Therapies for 2018 - Seite 2

"In developing our current lead STAT3 inhibitor, WP1066, for brain tumors, we have focused on its oral bioavailability and brain uptake," continued Dr. Picker, "but at the same time we have continued our quest to expand this portfolio by the creating alternative inhibitors with increased bioavailability and altered tissue and organ distribution that are not affected by first-pass metabolism. The lead molecule resulting from this new discovery is called WP1732 and it not only appears to share the same key mechanistic properties with WP1066, it has markedly different organ distribution and its dramatically increased solubility makes it ideal for administration via standard IV injection. Importantly, preclinical testing has also shown that WP1732's properties make it a promising candidate for treating pancreatic cancer, one of the most resistant and deadly forms of cancer."  

"So much has happened in the past few months, it's important to recap where we are," added Mr. Klemp. "Moleculin has three potential breakthrough disruptive technologies - (1) Annamycin, an anticancer agent that is active against multidrug resistant tumor cells and has been designed to be non-cardio toxic (unlike currently approved drugs in this class), (2) immuno-stimulating STAT3 inhibitors like WP1066 and, now, WP1732, and (3) WP1122, a metabolic inhibitor that has been shown in preclinical testing to effectively block the energy supply required by cancer cells to function and proliferate. Since our IPO in June 2016, we have accelerated to the point of having two drugs, Annamycin and WP1066, beginning clinical trials in the near term."

In other pharma and biotech developments in the markets:  

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced the companies have executed a global strategic development and commercialization collaboration for Nektar's lead immuno-oncology program, NKTR-214. Under the collaboration, the companies will jointly develop and commercialize NKTR-214 in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo (nivolumab) and Opdivo plus Yervoy(ipilimumab) in more than 20 indications across 9 tumor types, as well as potential combinations with other anti-cancer agents from either of the respective companies and/or third parties. NKTR-214, a CD122-biased agonist, is an investigational immuno-stimulatory therapy designed to selectively expand cancer-fighting T cells and natural killer (NK) cells directly in the tumor micro-environment and increase PD-1 expression on those immune cells.