treatment for breast cancer - Isis Project No 3209

Isis Innovation, the technology transfer arm of the University of Oxford, presents a new indication for 6-thioguanine in the treatment of breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers with defects in homologous recombination, e.g., BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

The variability in patient response to cancer therapies has lead to a drive towards a more personalised approach to treating individual patients. One method for deciding which treatment to use is based on screening for variations in genetic and protein biomarkers in cancerous cells. As more biomarkers are identified and screening becomes more commonplace, there will be an increasing demand for new bespoke treatments for the different patient groups.

PARP inhibitors are a novel group of cancer treatments currently undergoing phase II clinical trials in breast and ovarian cancer. These inhibitors act by specifically targeting cancer cells that are deficient in a DNA repair pathway called homologous recombination. Recent research has shown that a proportion of these cells can mutate and become resistant to PARP inhibitors.

A treatment that overcomes the issue of resistance that could serve as a standalone treatment or adjuvant to PARP inhibitors is the opportunity which the Oxford invention addresses.

THE OXFORD INVENTION

In the search for more effective treatments for homologous recombination deficient cancers, Oxford researchers have discovered that cancer cells that are resistant to PARP inhibitors are highly sensitive to treatment with 6-thioguanine (6-TG). Interestingly, previous phase II clinical trials for breast and pancreatic cancer have shown a response rate which is roughly equivalent to the BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation frequency in the general population.

6-TG is a generically available drug, currently indicated for treatment of leukaemia and as an immunosuppressant prior to transplantation. As well as a novel treatment for a group of resistant cancers, the Oxford invention would be also be a new indication for 6-TG.

PATENT STATUS

This work is the subject of patent application, and Isis would like to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunity that this represents either through licensing or collaboration. Please contact the Isis Project Manager to discuss this further.

KEYWORDS

Cancer, BRCA1, BRCA2, Breast, Pancreatic, Ovarian, Thioguamine, 6-TG-2-Amino-6, Mercaptopurine, Generic, Parp Inhibitor

Request Further Information: Project Number 3209 Treatment for Breast Cancer