Cancer Therapy: AOP Health Investigates a New Approach Targeting Cancer Stem Cells
2024年10月1日 - 5:30PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH (AOP Health) in collaboration
with Leukos Biotech has achieved a key milestone. The first patient
was included in the phase I clinical trial SERONCO-1, in which a
substance with a new and unique mechanism of action
(first-in-class) is being investigated. The drug candidate is being
studied in patients with solid tumors and lymphomas. This
development program builds on AOP Health’s proven success in
delivering cancer stem cell targeting agents that address patients’
unmet medical needs.
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AOP Health CEO Martin Steinhart
(Copyright: AOP Health/Studio Koekart)
Focus on a promising target
The new compound, AOP208, targets and blocks a protein on the
surface of the cancer stem cell, the serotonin receptor 1B, which
may prove to be critical to treat the root cause of the disease.
The compound is given orally and was designed and initially
developed by Leukos Biotech based on research performed at the
Josep-Carreras Leukemia Research Institute.
Ruth Risueño, Chief Scientific Officer at Leukos Biotech,
explains: “We wanted to find a new way to attack cancer stem cells,
as they are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of the
tumor. Our work showed that the serotonin receptor is key to this
process. Since no suitable molecule that could block the receptor
existed, we invented a new one. Now we are thrilled to start a
clinical trial and take our compound to the next level.”
AOP Health has licensed AOP208 and holds further development
rights and exclusive global commercial rights including USA,
Europe, Korea and Taiwan with the exclusion of mainland China.
First patient treated with AOP208
SERONCO-1, a first-in-human trial on AOP208, has started
enrolling patients with solid tumors (including metastatic cancer)
and lymphomas, and the first patient worldwide has received
treatment. The single-center trial, led by Dr. Irene Braña, is
being conducted in collaboration with Leukos Biotech at the Vall
d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) with partial funding from the
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the
Public-Private Partnership Program (CPP2021-008715).
Treatment of the first patient with AOP208 in the trial
represents a significant step towards understanding the safety and
tolerability of the drug. SERONCO-1 will also explore the activity
of AOP208 regarding tumor proliferation.
Research on novel approaches in cancer therapy is desperately
needed, emphasizes Christoph Klade, Chief Scientific Officer of AOP
Health: "AOP208 targets a receptor on cancer stem cells which has
not been in the center of attention in cancer therapy so far,
making it a first-in-class investigational drug in oncology. This
pathway may have a role in several types of leukemia but
importantly also various solid tumors including breast and lung
cancer.”
Complementing the SERONCO-1 trial, a second clinical trial on
AOP208 will be conducted by AOP Health in patients with acute
myeloid leukemia, a cancer that currently has a dismal
prognosis.
Martin Steinhart, CEO of AOP Health concludes: “We are committed
to AOP Health's founding idea of creating solutions for unmet
patient needs in rare indications. We take this idea seriously,
demonstrated by our investment of 25 million euros a year in
research and development. “
About AOP Health
The AOP Health Group incorporates several companies including
AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH with its seat in Vienna, Austria
(“AOP Health”). The AOP Health Group is the European pioneer for
integrated therapies for rare diseases and in critical care. Over
the past 25 years, the Group has become an established provider of
integrated therapy solutions operating from its headquarters in
Vienna, its subsidiaries and representative offices throughout
Europe and the Middle East, as well as through partners worldwide.
The claim “Needs. Science. Trust.” sums up the foundation of the
Group’s success: establishing trust through a continually high
level of investment in research and development and a highly
consistent and pragmatic orientation towards the needs of all
stakeholders – especially the patients and their families as well
as the healthcare professionals treating them.
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DI Isolde Fally Isolde.Fally@aop-health.com +43-676-500 4048
https://www.aop-health.com