A new compound has been shown to block a protein essential for the growth of many cancers. Australian researchers who collaborated with industry partner Servier included (L-R): Dr Gemma Kelly, Professor Andrew Roberts (both Walter and Eliza Hall Institute), Associate Professor Andrew Wei (The Alfred Hospital), Professor David Huang, Dr Jianan Gong, Associate Professor Guillaume Lessene (all Walter and Eliza Hall Institute), and Dr Donia Moujalled (The Alfred Hospital)
A new compound, discovered jointly by international pharmaceutical company Servier, France, and Vernalis (R&D),UK, has been shown by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Servier to block a protein that is essential for the sustained growth of up to a quarter of all cancers. The research presents a new way to efficiently kill these cancerous cells and holds promise for the treatment of blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia, AML, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as solid cancers such as melanoma and cancers of the lung and breast.
The Servier compound – S63845 – targets a protein of the BCL2 family, called MCL1, which is essential for the sustained survival of these cancer cells. Institute scientist Associate Professor Guillaume Lessene, who led the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s research team in Melbourne, Australia, said the work provided the first clear preclinical evidence that inhibiting MCL1 was effective in targeting several cancer types. “MCL1 is important for many cancers because it is a pro-survival protein that allows the cancerous cells to evade the process of programmed cell death that normally removes cancer cells from the body,” Associate Professor Lessene said. Not only was S63845 effective against several cancer types, but that it could also be delivered at doses that were well tolerated by normal cells.
Dr Olivier Geneste, Director of Oncology Research at Servier, said this preclinical research represented major findings regarding the druggability of MCL1, a valuable and highly challenging target. “S63845 was discovered through collaboration with the fragment and structure based discovery expertise at Vernalis,” he said. “As part of the ongoing Servier / Novartis collaboration on this target class, clinical development of a MCL1 inhibitor should be launched in the near future.”
Associate Professor Lessene said the research provided further evidence of the usefulness of a new class of anti-cancer drugs called BH3 mimetics. “BH3 mimetics inhibit a group of proteins known as the ‘pro-survival BCL-2 proteins’,” he said. “MCL1 is a member of this protein family, and inhibiting it activates the process of programmed cell death. Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers revealed the role of BCL-2 in cancer more than 28 years ago and the essential role of MCL1 for the survival of malignant cells four years ago.” http://www.wehi.edu.au/news/new-compound-shows-promise-treating-multiple-human-cancers
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