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Peptide-drug conjugates TH1902 and TH1904 show significant reduction in the formation of vasculogenic mimicry by targeting the sortilin receptor

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MONTREAL, June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Theratechnologies Inc. (Theratechnologies) (TSX: TH) (NASDAQ: THTX), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, is pleased to announce that new data featuring its investigational sortilin 1 (SORT1)-targeting peptide-drug conjugate technology will be presented in three posters at the American Association for Cancer Research’s virtual annual meeting II.

“We believe that our SORT1+ technology is one of the most promising advances in the treatment of cancer in many years. As our oncology programs progress through clinical development, we hope to continue to demonstrate that our SORT1+ technology could become a new paradigm in cancer treatment,” said Dr. Christian Marsolais, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Theratechnologies.

Inhibition of Vasculogenic Mimicry
The formation of microvascular channels leads to aggressive, metastatic and resistant cancer cells and is known as vasculogenic mimicry (VM). VM is believed to be associated with tumor growth, resistance and poor prognosis in many types of aggressive cancers including ovarian and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Results presented at AACR indicate that SORT1 is highly expressed in cancer cells involved in the VM process in both ovarian cancer and TNBC.  In addition, CD133, a gene associated with cancer stem cells, is also highly expressed during VM formation. Theratechnologies’ SORT1-targeting peptide-drug conjugates TH1902 (peptide-docetaxel conjugate) and TH1904 (peptide-doxorubicin conjugate) strongly inhibit VM at very low doses.  When administered alone, docetaxel and doxorubicin show no effect at therapeutic doses.   

“The data presented in this study demonstrate that by targeting SORT1, TH1902 and TH1904 have the potential to inhibit VM and cancer cell growth.  This ground-breaking approach could lead to better efficacy in the treatment of resistant cancers,” continued Dr. Marsolais.  

The poster “Sortilin receptor-mediated novel cancer therapy: A targeted approach to inhibit vasculogenic mimicry in ovarian and breast cancers” is now available online at aacr.org