Virax signs licence option with Moffitt Center

/in /by

THE ROADHOUSE PHARMACY: Virax Holdings (ASX: VHL) has entered into an Option Agreement with the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida to license novel technology which allows for the selection of breast and other cancer patients that are likely to respond to Virax’s GGTI-2418.

GGTI-2418 works in conjunction with p27, which in normal cells plays a key role in very tightly regulating cell division.

Virax explained that in some cancer types, including breast cancer, p27 is expressed at very low levels and this contributes to the uncontrolled cell division, a major hallmark of cancer.

The lower the p27 levels, the worse are the patient outcomes.

GGTI-2418 increases the levels of p27 in the nucleus and, by doing so, kills tumor cells.

Virax claims patients whose tumors express very low levels of p27 and where GGTI-2418 increases these levels are more likely to respond to Virax’s GGTI-2418.

GGTI-2418 is a small molecule which inhibits geranylgeranyltransferase I.

Virax said GGTI-2418 was found to induce apoptosis and inhibit growth in breast cancer as it is thought to inhibit the geranylgeranylation of the protein Rho, thereby inactivating the protein.

In cancer cells, overactive Rho is thought to lower the levels of the p27 which normally acts as a brake on the cell cycle.

GGTI-2418 can therefore inactivate Rho leading to higher levels of nuclear p27 stopping aberrant growth.

“We plan to add this exciting tool to our portfolio, shortly after completion of the licensing of the Yale oncology assets announced last month, and which goes to shareholders for approval on 9th May,” Virax executive chairman Dr Wayne Millen said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The p27 technology will allow us precision in determining those patients who are more likely to respond to GGTI-2418 therapy.”

Virax said the technology presents a method of using baseline nuclear p27 expression level in the breast tumors as a biomarker for response to GGTI-2418 treatment.

The data suggests that breast tumors with low baseline nuclear p27 expression where GGTI-2418 increases these levels are likely to benefit from the GGTI-2418 treatment.

Website: www.virax.com.au