- Full tumor regression observed with low oral doses of 10mg/kg and 25mg/kg
- Low-dose efficacy decreases risk of treatment-related adverse events
- Program on track for clinical trial initiation in 2023
- CT-01 compounds induce degradation of GSPT1, SALL4 and another yet undisclosed neo-substrate
Wroclaw, Poland, April 20, 2022 - Captor Therapeutics S.A. (WSE:CTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted protein degradation (TPD) drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announces additional positive pre-clinical data from one of its core pipeline projects designated CT-01, which is focused on the development of TPD therapeutics for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
The study was designed to establish the minimal effective dose of the two CT-01 drug candidates, which have already demonstrated potent anticancer activity in a liver cancer mouse xenograft model. These new in vivo results show that oral administration of both candidates causes complete tumor regression in a Hep 3B2.1-7 mouse model of HCC, demonstrating very robust efficacy. Full tumor regression was observed in all animals at doses as low as 10mg/kg and 25mg/kg from candidate compounds "A" and "B", respectively.
"The full efficacy obtained at low oral doses is a very promising result for our CT-01 compounds because of the decreased risk of potential treatment-related adverse events," said Dr Tom Shepherd, Chief Executive Officer of Captor Therapeutics. "It adds to the already compelling preclinical data demonstrating the strong regression of tumors in a liver cancer model and highlights our capability to rationally discover and optimize molecular glue-type degraders using our proprietary OptigradeTM platform. These milestones combined with our recent announcement of the CT-01 targets puts the program in a promising position ahead of our intention to progress into the clinic next year."
The CT-01 candidates target GSPT1, a protein involved in the termination of translation, SALL4, a transcription factor often re-expressed in HCC patients, and another undisclosed neo-substrate with essential function in tumorigenesis. These targets are a fundamental part of cancer development, and their elimination offers therapeutic potential in the treatment of HCC and other malignancies.
Captor Therapeutics plans to advance one of the CT-01 candidates towards Investigational New Drug Application (IND)-enabling studies and begin clinical trials in 2023.
About Project CT-01 and HCC
The purpose of Project CT-01 is to develop, based on targeted protein degradation technology, a drug candidate which will stop the progress of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and potentially offer significant benefits for patients. HCC, a form of liver cancer, constitutes a significant unmet medical need since most patients are diagnosed at a late stage of the disease, and present treatments bring limited benefits in terms of overall survival rate. With ~700,000 new cases each year, HCC constitutes the second most common cause of cancer mortality. In patients diagnosed early, surgical removal of the tumor remains the only effective therapy. In unresectable HCC, the best reported outcome is the combination of Atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) plus Bevacizumab (Avastin®), where 19.2 months median Overall Survival (OS) and 29.8% Overall Response Rate (ORR) were reported in the IMbrave150 study, indicating that there remains a dramatic need for new treatments.
About Captor Therapeutics
Captor Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on leveraging Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) technology to discover and develop breakthrough drug candidates in diseases with high unmet medical needs. TPD is a revolutionary approach to developing new drugs that can address novel molecular targets which are deemed “undruggable” with classical drug development approaches, as well as providing additional treatment options for diseases where existing drugs fail to provide optimal medical benefit. Captor is currently developing therapeutics for undertreated severe conditions, including malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
More information on Captor Therapeutics is available at: http://www.captortherapeutics.com
LinkedIn: @CaptorTherapeutics
Twitter: @CaptorTherapeu1
For further information, please contact:
Polish Media and Investor relations: Point of View Jakub Radzewicz +48 601 155 582
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