ProteinQure, the leading startup in the computational design of peptide drugs, announces a significant breakthrough in the fight against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2024 / ProteinQure, the leading startup in the computational design of peptide drugs, announces a significant breakthrough in the fight against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The novel Peptide Drug Conjugate (PDC) designed by ProteinQure demonstrated exceptional efficacy in a comprehensive suite of Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models. The experiments were conducted in the lab of Dr. David Cescon at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University Health Network, one of the world’s top five cancer research centres.

Developed through ProteinQure’s cutting-edge computational platform, the innovative SORT1 targeting PDC is a novel peptide attached to a highly potent chemotherapeutic agent. The drug candidate was tested across a broad range of breast cancer models. The results demonstrated remarkable antitumor efficacy, including cancers resistant to standard chemotherapies and antibody-drug conjugates.

“Working with the David Cescon Lab at UHN has been instrumental in validating our novel PDC’s efficacy against one of the most challenging forms of breast cancer. Based on these results, we are moving our lead program forward into IND-Enabling studies and our first clinical trial,” said Lucas Siow, CEO of ProteinQure. “These findings not only highlight the power of our computational drug design platform but also represent significant validation in our quest to develop tissue-specific peptides for targeted drug delivery.”

ProteinQure’s collaborators will present the data at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference in San Diego. The AACR conference, renowned for showcasing the latest innovations in cancer research, provides the perfect stage to share these findings with the global cancer research community.

“We are excited to present this data at AACR and help develop new therapeutic options for breast cancer, especially with promising Canadian startups,” stated Dr. David Cescon, head of the lab at UHN. “The success of this unique PDC in diverse PDX models is a testament to the potential of combining advanced computational techniques, precision oncology, and our labs’ robust preclinical platform”.

Funding for parts of this work included contributions from IRAP-Canada and the INOVAIT program based out of Sunnybrook Hospital.