Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc announced an expansive new research program that looks at the effects of NP-120, or Ifenprodil, on a particularly deadly form of lung cancer.
The program zeroes in on small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma that Algernon told shareholders has an “exceptionally poor prognosis” and accounts for nearly 15% of all cases of lung cancer.
A 2019 study showed that Ifenprodil, when used in combination with a type of chemotherapy drug called topotecan, effectively blocked tumor growth.
READ: Algernon Pharmaceuticals hits 70% enrollment for Phase 2 clinical study of Ifenprodil for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough
Leading the research program will be Dr William North, a professor emeritus at Dartmouth College and a pioneer in cancer research. North’s research looks at clarifying the role of certain receptors in common cancers, and more recently examines the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the growth and survival of small-cell, breast, pancreatic, ovarian, and prostate tumors.
North has published 232 scientific manuscripts and 17 reviews and book chapters and is an inventor of several US patents. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry, and in Physiology, from the University of Queensland, Australia, an MS (equivalent) from Melbourne University, as well as an honorary MA degree from Dartmouth College.
“We are very pleased to be expanding our Ifenprodil cancer research program to include SCLC,” Christopher Moreau, CEO of Algernon Pharmaceuticals said in a statement. “We also welcome Dr William North to help us lead the investigation of Ifenprodil’s potential as a new non-toxic cancer therapy.”
Vancouver-based Algernon recently announced it had struck an exclusive licensing agreement with Dartmouth College to acquire the rights to a method of use patent to treat neuroendocrine cancers, which express functional NMDA receptors.
The firm plans to submit a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting request with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its SCLC cancer clinical program.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas