Amplia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ATX) CEO and managing director Chris Burns joins Proactive’s Tylah Tully to discuss a preclinical research collaboration the company has entered into with Next&Bio, a drug screening company based in Seoul, South Korea.
This collaboration aims to evaluate the effects of Amplia’s focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitors in combination with kRas inhibitors, a class of drugs under development for pancreatic cancer treatment.
Next&Bio, a subsidiary of Hk Kolmar Holdings, specialises in drug screening using patient-derived cancer cells cultivated under conditions that replicate the tumour environment.
These models allow accurate testing of potential drug efficacy, particularly in pancreatic cancer cases with oncogenic mutations.
The collaboration will test Amplia’s FAK inhibitors, such as narmafotinib (AMP945), against pancreatic cancer cells harbouring kRas mutations.
Narmafotinib, Amplia’s selective and potent FAK inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 2a trial evaluating its safety and efficacy in combination with gemcitabine and Abraxane®. The collaboration also investigates potential synergistic effects with kRas inhibitors, which could open new therapeutic opportunities for pancreatic cancer.
Burns highlighted the significance of testing the company’s FAK inhibitors in patient-derived cell systems to explore new commercial applications for combination therapies in pancreatic cancer.