The biotech company Peptomyc SL and the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology announced today that the public-private collaborators have been awarded €4 million financing from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union through the NextGenerationEU program, in the context of the Plan de Recuperacion, Transformacion y Resiliencia (RETOS) for the clinical development of the drug Omomyc, the first MYC inhibitor, developed at VHIO.
The project title is: “CLINICAL PROOF-OF-CONCEPT OF A FIRST-IN-CLASS MYC INHIBITOR IN COMBINATION THERAPY AND EXPANSION OF ITS DEVELOPMENT PLAN”.
The funding consists of approximately €2,6M soft loan to Peptomyc and €1,4M grant to the academic laboratory of Models of Cancer Therapies, led by Dr. Laura Soucek at VHIO. This funding covers advancement of the clinical development of OMO-103, Peptomyc’s first-in-class direct MYC inhibitor, as well as activities to explore its utility in combination with targeted agents in cutting-edge preclinical models, and to develop brain metastasis-targeted products.
Laura Soucek, head of VHIO’s Models of Cancer Therapies Group, co-founder and CEO of Peptomyc, said “We are immensely grateful for this support, which will be pivotal in advancing our mission to develop transformative treatments for the benefit of patients worldwide. »
Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Peptomyc’s co-founder and CSO, added: “Thanks to this funding, we will advance the clinical development of OMO-103 and our understanding of its pharmacodynamic fingerprint thanks to transcriptomic and proteomic studies of tumor biopsies, as well as circulating tumor DNA analyses. Furthermore, the combination studies at the preclinical level will allow us to expand our drug applicability to many different cancer types, such as pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers.”
“We are also thrilled to be able to explore the possibility of developing a new brain targeting drug, which would allow us to treat brain metastases and tumors of the centrals nervous system” adds Dr. Soucek. “This funding will significantly bolster our research initiatives, allowing us to delve deeper into our groundbreaking approaches and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the fight against cancer”.
Reference: Proyect CPP2022-009808 funded by MCIN /AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033 and the European Union “NextGenerationEU”/PRTR”.
About Omomyc, the MYC inhibitor developed by Peptomyc at VHIO
Under normal conditions MYC is a transcription factor that regulates the activation of genes related to cell division in an orderly manner. Frequently dysregulated in many human cancers, MYC drives the transcription of genes implicated in the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells and the development of metastasis and disease recurrence.
The Omomyc molecule, developed by Peptomyc, is a therapeutic mini-protein capable of inhibiting the MYC oncogene and based on the research of Dr. Laura Soucek. “This is the first mini-protein directed at MYC that has successfully passed a phase I trial showing safety and clinical activity”, explains Dr. Laura Soucek, who has dedicated more than 25 years to research into therapies directed against the MYC gene. A Phase Ib clinical trial in combination with standard treatment in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer is currently underway.
About Peptomyc
Peptomyc (www.peptomyc.com) is a spin-off from VHIO – the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology – and ICREA – the Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies -, founded in December 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. The company is focused on the development of innovative cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) targeting the Myc oncoprotein for cancer treatment and based on Dr. Soucek’s scientific research in Omomyc (the best and most characterized direct Myc inhibitor known to date) over the last twenty years. It is the first company to have successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial with a direct MYC inhibitor.
Disclosures Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Peptomyc is including the following cautionary statement in this document to make applicable and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (or equivalent law) for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, projections, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than statements of historical facts. Certain statements contained herein, including, without limitation, those that are identified by the use of the words “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “believes,” “seeks,” “will,” “may” and similar expressions, are “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The Company’s expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed by the Company to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs, or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished.