Our medical objective is to validate and bring to clinical use, a novel approach to improve the treatment of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma using a proangiogenic molecule S1P lyase inhibitor acting as a tumor vascular normalizer.
Our S1P lyase inhibitor ACB2003.4, patented by our company for oncology applications, is in-licensed from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the United States.
Our French affiliate AC BioTech will carry out the clinical trials for metastatic pancreatic cancer at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, starting with a clinical trial Phase 2a in early 2023.
A successful clinical proof of concept study in metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients would provide a premise for a similar strategy to be implemented for all poorly vascularized solid tumors, thus, providing a transformative new standard for cancer treatment.
Pancreatic cancer is characterized by excessive dense extracellular matrix deposition associated to vascular collapse and hypoxia with low drug delivery, explaining at least partly the low efficacy of antiangiogenic drugs in this cancer (Longo et al. 2016, Katsuta et al., 2019).
Frequent failures of chemotherapy treatments in clinical applications are due to their inability to reach the tumor cells, particularly in instances of a vascular disruption of abnormal tumor vessels. Re-instating vascular normalization is therefore one of the key prerequisites for efficient therapy.
The proangiogenic S1P metabolism modulators act as a tumor vascular normalizer. They work by re-building a functional vascular network, thereby improving the blood flow to – and oxygenation of – tumor tissue. Along these lines, and based on clinical observations, the company has developed a new paradigm in the form of a neo-adjuvant therapy using a proangiogenic molecule acting as a tumor vascular normalizer and in fine improving drug delivery and treatment efficacy for all type of chemotherapy. Experimental proof of concept has been demonstrated both in clinical observations and also in a mouse model bearing a pancreatic adenocarcinoma where the combination of gemcitabine and S1P lyase inhibitor displayed a strong antitumor superiority compared to gemcitabine alone.
A functional plasmatic biomarker has been identified, allowing the selection of a subpopulation of eligible patients for such therapy.
There exists an unmet medical need for all cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors whose efficacy has plateaued at around 30%. Colorectal Cancer patients in particular, are mostly non-responders to ICI treatments.
Our patented Betacarboline derivative (ACB1801) is an actin dynamic modulator which induces cellular F-actin network remodeling (tumor reversal); this in turn translates into immuno-competency that allows the immune system to recognize tumor cells and thereby enhances the efficacy of checkpoint-inhibitor immune therapy. Immune checkpoint-inhibitors directly target the immune system of the body and do not harm healthy cells in the process.
Colorectal cancer is the lead target for the first clinical trial program to start in 2024, followed by ovarian and melanoma. ACB1801 converts non-responder patients (MSI-L/pMMR and MSS/pMMR) with colorectal and other cancers into candidates for anti PD-1 therapy.
Cancer cells are known to co-opt the checkpoints – in effect “hacking” the immune system – by sending out false signals indicating that the cells are healthy; this with the result that the T-cells are shut down, thus preventing the immune system from attacking the tumor cells. Checkpoint-inhibitors deactivate the “brakes” and allow the T-cells to get moving again.
Preventing tumors to evade the immune surveillance requires a high expression in cells of TAP and a high level of MHC-1, with an appropriated MHC-1 mediated antigen presentation pathway.
To restore both TAP1 and MHC-1 presentation after loss of tumor phenotype characters, ACB1801 induces genetic and epigenetic modifications. ACB1801, thanks to the restoration of the actin cytoskeleton network in tumor cells, favors the trafficking of antigenic peptides and increases the MHC-1 expression at the tumor cell membrane.
ACB1801 has shown very promising results in the melanoma B16-F10 mouse model, where it displays non cytotoxic, immune-mediated antitumor effect and a strong potentiation of an anti PD-1 antibody (see chart).
Our product is a new-generation CAP6 that shows great promise as a highly effective treatment for lung cancer (NSCLC). Lung cancer is one of the most widely prevalent cancers, and one of the most difficult to treat. Eighty-one percent of patients treated for lung cancer die within five years.
The target market for our CAP6 is cancer treatment using chemo- or radiotherapy, or a combination of both. Because of their cationic and amphipathic features, CAP6 (cationic amphipathic peptides) are recognized as novel cancer-targeted therapeutics, with significantly lower cost and fewer side effects. CAP6s represent the molecules of the future as a form of a cancer “biotherapy”, which is well-tolerated and effective.
Our CAP6 has achieved better scores in in vivo trials than the blockbuster lung-cancer drug Erlotinib
Our CAP6 belongs to a new generation of cancer drugs having few side effects and generally greater efficacy. It displays a dual mechanism of action, specifically targeting tubulin and membranes of tumor cells, with low toxicity for normal cells. CAP6s bind to cancer cells by electrostatic interaction, and this leads to cytotoxicity of cancer cells.
Originally developed for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, our CAP6 has since been tested ex vivo for its anti-proliferative properties on 33 tumor cells, and has achieved the best scores in 17 instances. When tested in vivo it showed a significant improvement in terms of reduced lung tumor volume in mice when compared to Erlotinib.
