A new development on the most powerful cancer drug

Biotech company Emergence Therapeutics is working on the clinical development of its lead candidate that targets nectin-4, the same target as Radcev (approved for bladder cancer). This candidate was originally created by scientists at the Center for Cancer Research of the University of Marseille and is known as ETx-22. Despite the fact that the company has practically not published data describing preclinical studies on this drug, they have high hopes for it.

The startup predicts that ETx-22 may be less toxic than other anti-nectin-4 conjugates. This will allow to use the higher dosage of the cancer drug and to improve the effectiveness of treatment. Preclinical data have shown that this compound 10 times faster binds to nectin-4, and the linker of the new conjugate is more stable than, for example, the linker of the same Radcev. ETx-22 is also loaded with a toxin less dangerous for healthy cells. The company is going to carry out studies for two types of tumors with high levels of nectin-4 expression (bladder cancer and triple negative breast cancer). After ETx-22, it is planned to study other tumors with medium and low levels of nectin-4 expression.

Source: endpts