BioWorld International Correspondent

Elara Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a spinout from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), raised an undisclosed level of seed financing to fund animal studies of a series of cancer leads identified via chemical genomics.

The Heidelberg, Germany-based company is commercializing research carried out at the EMBL, also in Heidelberg, on two targets associated with cancer development, aurora kinase A, which is responsible for spindle assembly during mitosis, and estrogen receptor signaling, which is essential to the development of most breast cancers.

"The seed funding is being used to do contract research," Elara CEO George Reid told BioWorld International. The company is working on seven chemical series, four directed against estrogen receptor and three against aurora kinase A. They were identified by a chemical genomics screening facility, which the EMBL established in partnership with the Heidelberg-based German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) two years ago.

Elara is exploiting findings on both targets uncovered by scientists working at EMBL, an international basic research institute funded by 19 European countries. A group led by Elena Conti determined the structural basis of an interaction between aurora kinase A and microtubule-associated protein called TPX2, which, following phosphorylation, locks the enzyme into an active confirmation. Elara's chemical leads block that step.

"That's our novel spin. That's the IP we have," Reid said. The approach avoids potential problems with specificity that can arise from inhibiting kinase activity directly, through blocking an ATP-binding site. "That's one of the selling points we have," he said.

The other strand of Elara's drug discovery and development work is derived from an extensive research effort at EMBL on unraveling the complex transcriptional mechanisms associated with estrogen-receptor signaling.

"We were looking for experimental tools to dissect the process. That's why we did this in the first place," Reid said. The leads were identified via cellular screens involving a reporter gene linked to an estrogen-sensitive promoter. "That captures the whole complexity of estrogen signaling," he said.

Clonogenic assay data on some of its chemical leads indicate they have strong anticancer effects, Reid said. The fledgling company now wants to test its chemistry in animal models of cancer, to determine whether they affect tumor burden. It is outsourcing that work to Freiburg, Germany-based Oncotest GmbH.

"We would anticipate we should have that data within three months," he said. The company will seek additional funding if the data are favorable. "If this is going to work as a company, we would need to be able to offer clinical candidates for Phase I testing within three years," Reid said.

Heidelberg-based EMBL Ventures, an early stage life sciences fund with €26 million (US$33.2 million) under management, participated in the seed round. Elara's co-founders include Reid; Joe Lewis, who is head of the EMBL/DKFZ chemical genomics facility; and Frank Gannon, executive director of the Heidelberg-based European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), who is leader of the EMBL's estrogen receptor signaling biology group.

Over time, additional EMBL programs may be added to its pipeline. "Elara may become a conduit for exploiting basic research discoveries at EMBL," Reid said.