The potential drug is a group of multi-target kinase inhibitors originally developed by scientists in the Experimental Therapeutics Programme at CNIO, whose goal is to find novel anti-cancer drugs
The compounds, tested in more than 700 cancer cell lines, have shown potential for clinical development in breast cancer, lung cancer, leukaemia and neuroblastoma
The agreement between Inflection Biosciences and AUM Biosciences underscores the relevance of CNIO’s Experimental Therapeutics Programme, involved in the discovery of innovative drugs, and the importance of public-private cooperation in the process of translating research findings into commercially viable drugs for the benefit of society
A group of multi-target anti-tumour compounds, the IBL-300 series, discovered at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), and licensed to Irish firm Inflection Biosciences (Inflection) in 2013, will be further developed by Singapore-based biotechnology firm AUM Biosciences under license from Inflection.
These compounds are an exclusive multi-kinase inhibitor series originally developed in the context of the Experimental Therapeutics Programme at CNIO. They combine in a single molecule anti-tumour activity on three therapeutic targets (PIM, PI3K and mTOR kinases). Simultaneous inhibition of the three kinases has synergistic anti-cancer effects and is more effective than individual inhibition of the three therapeutic targets mentioned.
The IBL-300 series, optimised at CNIO in terms of pharmacological properties and the ADMET profile (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity), was tested in more than 700 cancer cell lines. The compounds proved to be effective in selected mice cancer models and showed no relevant side effects and they have potential to enter clinical trials for breast cancer, lung cancer, leukaemia and neuroblastoma.
‘Thanks to public-private cooperation initiatives like this one, CNIO can translate its research findings into commercially viable drugs and obtain funds for research groups. We are very satisfied with the development of these innovative compounds, which might be used in the treatment of cancer patients in the future,’ says CNIO Director Maria Blasco.
‘We are dedicated to accelerating drug development timelines for the benefit of patients, both in the Asia-Pacific region and globally,’ says Vishal Doshi, CEO of AUM Biosciences. Darren Cunningham, CEO of Inflection Biosciences, said that his company ‘is committed to developing innovative targeted therapies for the benefit of cancer patients around the world. We are pleased to partner with AUM Biosciences, whose broad experience and know-how in the development of drugs will contribute to the approval of these compounds in Asia and the whole world.’
The Experimental Therapeutics Programme, whose researchers were involved in the early development of the IBL-300 series, is led by Joaquín Pastor. The Programme, which has no counterparts in other Spanish research centres, functions as a bridge that connects basic research findings in the fields of cancer biology with the development of potential anti-tumour drugs to accelerate the availability of new medicines.
CNIO is the owner of about thirty patent families, 20 per cent of which are commercially exploited. In addition, the Centre has generated three spin-offs for the industrial application of inventions: Bioncotech, established in 2010 to work on the findings of the group headed by Marisol Soengas, whose drug entered clinical trials in 2017; Life Length, established in 2010 and based on María A. Blasco’s research into telomere measurement; and Senolytx, created in 2017 for the development of drugs that target and destroy senescent or damaged cells. Since 2011, CNIO has had a total income of 25 million euro from agreements signed with the pharmaceutical industria, 70 per cent of them with multinational companies such as Merck Serono, Roche, Lilly, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.