Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC)’s lead program and cancer drug has been proven to improve cancer immunotherapy in a mouse model of treatment-resistant melanoma.
The novel drug candidate, known as Zantrene®, was recently studied in combination with immunotherapy during a preclinical melanoma research program.
During testing, scientists found the combination treatment helped shrink mouse melanoma tumours that did not respond to immunotherapy alone.
Zantrene is designed to activate immune cells to help better target cancerous tumours, and it’s been shown to reduce resistance to immune therapy in human melanoma tumour cells.
Moving ahead, Race believes the findings will support future clinical trials, which will study Zantrene in combination with immune therapy treatments in a bid to improve melanoma patient outcomes.
“Potential new cancer treatment”
Speaking to the findings, Race’s chief scientific officer Dr Daniel Tillett said: “The results of this preclinical research demonstrate the potential of Zantrene to enhance immunotherapy outcomes in melanoma.
“While checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionised the treatment of advanced melanomas, far too many patients show no, or only a short-term response, to these treatments.
“Zantrene has shown its ability to work in three complementary ways to enhance the anti-melanoma immune response.
“I continue to be amazed by novel utility we’re seeing for Zantrene as a potential new cancer treatment.”
Echoing Dr Tillett’s comments, Race CEO and managing director Phillip Lynch said: “It's pleasing to see continued reaffirmation of Zantrene’s utility in suppressing and potentially improving cancer outcomes, in this case against melanoma, which remains a challenging cancer.
“I look forward to us progressing clinical translation of this opportunity to assess improving patient outcomes.”
These results drew a positive response from investors with shares as much as 11.72% higher to A$1.86 while RAC's market cap is approximately A$283.81 million.
Next steps
Looking forward, Race plans to:
- further explore the dose-effect of Zantrene on the antiPD-1 immunotherapy in new preclinical models of melanoma to determine the optimal dosage for use in human melanoma clinical trials;
- start new preclinical studies in diverse model systems to understand the importance of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) overproduction in anti-PD-1 immunotherapy resistance;
- begin additional preclinical studies of Zantrene on human immune cells to better understand the effects of Zantrene and dose levels with the aim of achieving optimal immune cell antitumour activation;
- publish results in a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal; and
- consult with key opinion leaders to explore the initiation of a clinical study using the optimal dosage of Zantrene to enhance the immunotherapy response in treatment-resistant melanoma patients.
Race could begin a human Zantrene trial with melanoma patients as early as 2023, depending on the outcomes of additional preclinical work.