Wrocław, Poland, September 28, 2021 - Captor Therapeutics S.A. (WSE:CTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel protein degradation drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announced key preclinical data and revealed the identity of the drug target in one of its core pipeline projects designated as CT-03 for the treatment of haematological, lung and breast cancers.
The Company obtained and verified scientific results which indicate that the compounds developed by the Company potently degrade “Induced Myeloid Leukaemia Cell Differentiation Protein” (commonly called MCL-1 which is the molecular target of the CT-03 project) across a wide range of cancer cell lines.
The results obtained by the Company demonstrate the following properties of Captor’s degrader molecules:
- Induction of programmed cell death, apoptosis, in vitro in different haematological cancer and solid tumour cell lines
- Desired pharmacodynamic effects, including in vivo degradation of MCL-1 in tumour-bearing mice in a leukaemia model (MV4-11)
- Strong induction of apoptosis in vivo in an MV4-11 leukaemia model, as a consequence of the degradation of MCL-1
The molecular target of CT-03 project, i.e. MCL-1, belongs to the Bcl-2 family of proteins. The Bcl-2 family consists of both pro- and antiapoptotic proteins that dictate cell fate via series of competitive protein-protein interactions. MCL-1 serves as a major pro-survival signal in many cancers and functions as a cancer resistance mechanism, including BCL2 inhibition, thus degrading the MCL-1 target is an attractive approach for treating several different tumour types. Despite significant efforts over the years, no MCL-1 targeting drug has been approved so far.
The results will be presented in detail at the “Targeted Protein Degradation Summit" industry conference organised by Hanson Wade, to be held on October 28, 2021 by the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Captor, Dr. Michał Walczak.
Dr. Tom Shepherd, president of Captor Therapeutics said, “The positive pharmacological results obtained in the mouse tumour model provide strong evidence of the potential of the Captor’s OptigradeTM targeted protein degradation platform to produce novel drug candidates with good druggable properties against high value targets, especially considering how challenging the molecular target MCL-1 has been for the pharmaceutical industry to date. Although it is a protein with a well-known pathogenic role, classic drug development approaches have not yet been successful in obtaining approval of a drug targeting MCL-1."
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:
International Investor Relations
LifeSci Advisors
Guillaume van Renterghem
+41 (0)76 735 01 31
gvabio0nrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com
Polish Media and Investor relations
Point of View
Bartosz Sawulski
+ 48 694 400 787
