DDR-inhibitors Exploit Cancer's
"Achilles' Heel"
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 11, 2021 /CNW/ - At the Emerging Growth
Conference on June 23, 2021, Rakovina
Therapeutics (TSXV: RKV) ("the Company") gave an insightful rundown
of their company and their cancer fighting strategy.
Rakovina Therapeutics is a Vancouver-based biopharmaceutical company
committed to advancing new cancer therapies based on novel
DNA-damage response inhibitor (DDRi) technologies. "Rakovina is
dedicated to developing innovative treatments with the potential to
improve patient outcomes across many different types of cancer,"
noted Jeffrey Bacha, Rakovina
Therapeutics' executive chairman.
Our cells incur tens of thousands of DNA damaging events daily.
The DNA damage response acts as a protector in that it detects and
repairs these natural events. "As we've come to understand, certain
types of cancer take advantage of a defect in one or more of these
systems allowing a mutation to sneak through and become ingrained
in the cell. If this mutation is associated with cellular
growth, a tumour will form, and the patient will eventually be
diagnosed with cancer." stated Bacha.
Mr. Bacha further explained that because the DDR-associated
mutation is found only in the cancer cells and not in normal cells,
it provides an opportunity for targeted therapies. These therapies
generate specific lethality to the tumour while sparing normal
cells, thereby reducing side effects.
Four FDA-approved DDR inhibitors, called PARP=inhibitors, have
been launched in recent years. They have become integral in the
treatment of several tumors including breast, ovarian and prostate
cancer.
As a leading cause of death worldwide, cancer was the cause of
over 10 million deaths in 2020. This statistic only continues to
persevere due to the emergence of resistance to available
treatments, including PARP-inhibitors.
Rakovina Therapeutics has assembled a pipeline of DNA damage
response technology assets. The company has acquired rights to
these technologies to leverage prior research efforts and
accelerate the development of these technologies. The hope is to
obtain regulatory approval and benefit patients. During the
presentation, it was declared that Rakovina Therapeutics' DNA
Damage Response Inhibitor (DDRi) technology can potentially address
treatment-resistant reoccurrence of several cancers.
The pipeline currently consists of three distinct molecular
series. The kt-2000 series is a novel series of PARP inhibitors.
The kt-2000 series is being screened for improved biodistribution
to treat tumours which have metastasized to the central nervous
system and against cancers that have become resistant to
FDA-approved agents. The kt-3000 series is a dual-function DDR
inhibitor that anticipates and targets emerging resistance
pathways. Lastly, the kt-4000 series carries a targeted payload to
cause DNA damage while potently inhibiting key DNA-damage response
mechanisms in the tumour cell.
Each of these series' within the pipeline were previously under
development by third parties and were brought under Rakovina
Therapeutics' research umbrella to accelerate the advancement into
human trials.
Rakovina Therapeutics' full presentation at the Emerging Growth
Conference may be found here.
About Red Thread Ventures
Red Thread Ventures (RTV) is a global investment and advisory
firm. We form long term partnerships with early-stage companies led
by incredible management teams across a variety of industries.
Besides capital, Red Thread adds value by leveraging an extensive
CFO and capital markets executive network to aid ventures as they
scale from idea to IPO and beyond. Red Thread Ventures currently
manages two investment funds, a VCC (Venture Capital Corporation)
fund focused on pre-seed/seed stage opportunities in British Columbia and a "Global Fund" for
follow-on investments and opportunities across different
geographies and asset classes.
SOURCE Red Thread Ventures
