Triumph Over Cancer
OncoSpherix is developing drugs that are designed to enable people with high risk and advanced cancers to have a better life. Our drugs target a common feature of nearly all cancers: the ability of cancer cells to thrive and spread despite the oxygen starvation that occurs when tumor cells outgrow their blood supply. The survival and spread of these hypoxic cancer cells is actively driven by the master regulatory genes, with HIF-1 playing an especially important role in most tumors through the induction of expression of over 100 genes that are beneficial to the cancer cells and help them evade destruction by various treatments. By blocking the activation of HIFs, our drugs cripple cancer cells in hypoxic regions, thereby preventing their spread. Our compounds are intended to be combined with other treatments, so that cancers are attached on multiple fronts.
Many types of cancer benefit from OncoSpherix’s HIF inhibitors in preclinical studies, and plans are underway to advance these drugs for use in humans.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM):
It accounts for 52% of all primary brain cancers. Despite incremental improvements in outcomes, the vast majority of patients with GBM relapse within 1-2 years of diagnosis. Most patients with relapsed disease do poorly, with median survivals between 3-6 months despite the use of best available treatment. The only drug approved for recurrent glioblastoma in the past 20 years is bevacizumab, an monoclonal antibody that binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), blocking its ability to induce new blood vessel growth into tumors (angiogenesis). OncoSpherix’s lead compounds go well beyond bevacizumab by inhibiting many processes involved in tumor survival and spread, including angiogenesis, tumor cell invasion, tumor resistance to treatments and tumor cell resistance to cell death. We are working to identify the best drugs to be given in combination with our HIF inhibitors to benefit patients with recurrent glioblastoma, with the goal of beginning clinical testing within 2 years.
Ocular (also called uveal) melanoma (UM):
It is the most common primary malignant eye tumor in adults. Approximately 50% of patients develop metastases, with death occurring in the majority within 1 yr of their detection. High metastatic risk of UM can be identified with tools that categorize patients as Class 1 (low metastatic risk) or Class 2 (high metastatic risk: 72% 5 yr metastatic risk). OncoSpherix has shown in preclinical models that both primary tumor growth and metastatic disease can be reduced with our clinical lead family of compounds. We are working to identify drugs that complement our HIF inhibitors to benefit patients high risk and metastatic uveal melanoma.
Lung cancer:
Lung cancer causes the greatest number of cancer deaths in the US. There are a growing number of treatments that benefit patients with different types of unresectable lung cancer (e.g., targeted therapies and immunotherapies), but they rarely lead to cure. We’ve shown in preclinical models of lung cancer that combining our clinical lead candidate, 64B, with some cytotoxic chemotherapy leads to synergistic tumor control. Studies using 64B in combination with other agents are ongoing to determine which combinations are best for patients with various subtypes of lung cancer.
Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer that is invasive is diagnosed in over 280,000 people in the United States each year, with the majority of them women. Over 43,600 deaths from breast cancer occur in the US each year. Preclinical studies show a decrease in primary tumor growth and metastases of triple negative breast cancer in response to OncoSpherix’s lead family of compounds. Combination studies are planned to identify the best combinations that will improve quality of life and longevity in patients with high risk and metastatic breast cancer.
We anticipate that additional types of advanced cancers will benefit from treatments with our dual HIF inhibitors. Priorities for clinical testing will be governed by science combined with clinical need.