Roquefort Therapeutics PLC (LSE:ROQ, OTCQB:ROQAF) has announced that its ROQ-A1 and ROQ-A2 Midkine (MDK) antibody programmes have successfully demonstrated safety in pre-clinical studies.
The two assets are being developed to target MDK over-expression in hard-to-treat cancers.
In laboratory experiments, ROQ-A1 and ROQ-A2 were seen to bind highly specifically to the MDK receptors to kill cancers in vitro.
Roquefort’s MDK drug candidates are being used to target metastatic breast cancer and metastatic lung cancer. The two diseases were chosen because of high patient mortality rates (around 70% at five years) and the prevalence of resistant MDK subtypes which can reduce the effectiveness of existing therapies.
“We have started 2023 with significant momentum, successfully completing these initial pre-clinical development milestones on schedule and within budget,” said the company’s chief executive, Ajan Reginald in a statement.
”The ROQ-A1 and ROQ-A2 antibodies are valuable assets that fit the established big pharma paradigm of treating cancer with novel antibody therapeutics.
“Therefore, we are pleased that both programmes have shown the good safety profile that is particularly attractive for innovative cancer medicines targeting novel targets such as Midkine," he added.
Earlier this month, the LSE main market-listed biotech signed partnership agreements and commenced pre-clinical development programmes with leading academic cancer research groups.
This includes partnerships with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (La Trobe University), Lowry Cancer Research Centre (University of New South Wales), Hawkins Laboratory Biochemistry and Genetics (La Trobe University) and the School of Medical Sciences (University of Sydney).