Barcelona, July 30, 2020.- VHIO-born spin-off Peptomyc S.L. –co-founded in 2014 by VHIO’s Laura Soucek, also CEO of the enterprise and ICREA Professor– and VHIO have recently been awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities’ R+D+i Retos-Colaboración (Meeting Challenges in Collaboration) program, within the framework of the National Scientific, Technology and Innovation Plan which spurs progress against some of today’s most pressing societal challenges.
Co-created by Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Peptomyc’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), the company’s research centers on developing anti-Myc peptides for the treatment of several different cancers. The Omomyc cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), proven preclinically thanks to research pioneered by Laura over the last 20 years, promises to become the first ever clinically viable and direct inhibitor of Myc – a protein implicated in the formation of most tumor types.
Laura’s team is now seeking out predictive biomarkers that will help to gauge response to treatment and thus more precisely select those patients who would be most likely to benefit from their Omomyc-based therapy.
Reflective of the mounting promise of their therapeutic approach, and thanks to this latest backing received through the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities’ R+D+i Retos-Colaboración, VHIO has now secured further support totaling at 688,225.40 euros by 2023, while Peptomyc has been granted a loan of 1,293.695.64 euros by Eksperten to ultimately translate their novel therapy into clinical application. This new funding will further fuel research assessing the preclinical efficacy of Omomyc across different tumor types including non-small cell lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, melanoma, and glioblastoma. As importantly, the team will also focus on identifying and evaluating the efficacy of enhanced next-generation MYC inhibitors and biomarkers of response to MYC blockade in multiple cancer and mutation patterns.
“We continue to pioneer advances to better tackle one of the major societal challenges, cancer. Up until now, research has not focused on identifying biomarkers of MYC inhibition. While we don’t know whether we’ll find common biomarkers for all tumor types, or if there are specific biomarkers for each cancer, we do know that this phase is absolutely crucial for the clinical success of our novel therapeutic approach,” observes Laura Soucek, who is also Principal Investigator of VHIO’s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group.
“Likewise, we will also assess the therapeutic synergy of combinations of Omomyc and next-generation inhibitors with standard therapies for the treatment of diverse tumors,” continues Marie-Eve Beaulieu, also formerly a Postdoctoral Fellow in Laura’s Group.
This project phase will also seek to establish a preclinical Proof-of-Concept of Omomyc’s potential and other next-generation inhibitors in the treatment of neuroblastoma, the most common non-brain solid pediatric tumor.
“MYC is known to play a crucial role in this type of cancer and thus, our approach could prove highly effective in the treatment of this patient population,” adds Marie-Eve.
The R+D+i Retos-Colaboración grants provide support for researchers to define and lead next directions and in science and technology throughout Spain, thus promoting new advances, the alignment of a paradigm with technology and its applications, and innovation for the prosperity and improved quality of life of citizens in our Society.
Set firmly within this context, projects promising the greatest impact and socio-economic value are prioritized. That is, those exploiting ideas, knowledge and cutting-edge technologies to address today’s major societal challenges. Omomyc checks all the boxes; an ambitious undertaking focused on a truly innovative therapeutic approach by targeting MYC, a core protein of cancer cells that is essential for their survival.
“MYC has been considered an ‘undruggable’ cancer target for many years. We have however shown that Myc blockade has an excellent therapeutic effect in several mouse models, with mild side effects that are well tolerated and reversible. This grant will help us to push our novel therapy closer to the clinic,” concludes Laura.
For more information about Peptomyc S.L. please visit: http://www.peptomyc.com/
