Roquefort Therapeutics PLC (LSE:ROQ, OTCQB:ROQAF) said it has developed a new platform of potential anti-cancer messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics, expanding the company's portfolio to five in-house programmes.
The initiative consists of four pre-clinical putative treatments focusing on the company's MDK, or Midkine, target - a protein that plays a key role in the development and progression of cancer.
Roquefort's chief executive, Ajan Reginald, said: "This is an exciting new approach to treat cancer which is attractive to big pharma, demonstrated by some large recent licensing deals and acquisitions."
A cutting-edge anti-cancer approach pioneered by leading biotech companies Moderna and BioNTech, mRNA is a molecule that plays a crucial role in translating the genetic information stored in DNA into the production of proteins.
Vaccines using mRNA are currently being used to fight Covid, marking a breakthrough in the use of this technology.
Roquefort said its new programme is a significant achievement, demonstrating the company's internal R&D capacity to develop cutting-edge pre-clinical cancer medicines within the company's strategy.
Developing its own mRNA platform could position Roquefort Therapeutics as an attractive niche for licensing and M&A, it added.