Researchers from Puhe Biopharma Co. Ltd. presented the discovery and preclinical evaluation of PH027-1, a novel small-molecule Werner syndrome protein (WRN) inhibitor targeting microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) tumors.
Prior to this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), it had been 14 years since metastasis had been the subject of a plenary session. So, the Tuesday session on “Evolution of the genome, microenvironment, and host through metastasis” had plenty of new insights to share.
M-9140 (Merck KGaA) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that carries a DNA topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) inhibitor payload plus an antibody directed against carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5). CEACAM5 is a cell surface protein that is overexpressed in colorectal cancer and other solid tumors.
ABM Therapeutics Inc. presented a novel small-molecule, ATP-uncompetitive, phosphorylated MEK (pMEK) inhibitor – ABM-4095 – that potently prevents phosphorylation of MEK by RAF with moderate inhibition of MEK kinase activity; it is being investigated for the potential treatment of pancreatic cancer.
At the AACR meeting, Innovent Biologics Inc. discussed the discovery and preclinical evaluation of a B7-H3/EGFR bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (bsADC).
Pfizer Inc. has presented preclinical data on its first-in-class, selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) inhibitor compound, PF-07220060, that has shown 20-fold and 4-fold increased selectivity for CDK4 vs. CDK6 compared to palbociclib and abemaciclib/ribociclib, respectively.
It has been previously demonstrated that B7-H3 and EGFR are co-expressed in multiple solid tumors. At the ongoing AACR meeting in San Diego, researchers from Innovent Biologics Inc. presented preclinical data for their bispecific antibody (bsAb), IBI-334, against B7-H3 and EGFR.
Kinase inhibitors have emerged as crucial cancer therapeutics due to the involvement of kinases in cancer signaling. At the AACR, Neosome Life Sciences LLC has provided data on their kinase inhibitor NEOS-223 for the potential treatment of tumors. The compound was tested in several cancer cell types, as well as in in vivo cancer models in mice.
As with most common diseases of the developed world, aging is the major risk factor for developing cancer. Most of the half-dozen hallmarks of precancer that were published last week by investigators from Vanderbilt University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are also hallmarks of aging.
Unfortunately, scientists reported at the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) 2024 annual meeting this week that accelerated aging is increasing, and may be driving an increase in early-onset cancers.