SELLAS, TrojanTec to develop new TR-1 anti-cancer antennapedia technology

TrojanTec is a discovery research and development company affiliated with UK’s Imperial College London.

TR-1 is a potent and specific replacement therapy of wild type p53/p21, which represents one of the most sought after oncology drug targets by clinical oncologists due to its central role in preventing the initiation and progression of most haematological and solid tumors.

Under the deal, a Phase I trial will be started in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2015 with emphasis on colon, breast and ovarian cancers.

The company said that TR-1 is the first clinical drug candidate that replaces dysfunctional p53/p21 suppressor proteins, in contrast to other p53-targeting small molecule drugs in clinical development that only inhibit MDM2.

TrojanTec chairman and chief executive officer professor Agamemnon Epenetos said: "This upcoming Phase I study represents an ambitious and highly exciting undertaking for SELLAS and TrojanTec.

"The ultimate goal of this study is to demonstrate our ability to safely and effectively engage one of the most important drug targets in all of oncology, p53/p21, and further establish the druggability of transcription factors that have been shown to be some of the most important, but difficult-to-target oncogenic drivers.

"This Phase I study will demonstrate the first systemic administration of a cell-penetrating peptide delivering another therapeutic peptide, p21, to the nucleus of cells and will further establish the potential of this new class of medicines for a wide range of therapeutic areas.

"With the Phase I study soon to be underway, we would expect to have a steady flow of important insights into the safety and activity of TR-1 in patients."

As part of the deal, TrojanTec will receive an upfront payment from SELLAS and is also eligible to secure milestone payments upon achieving certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, including royalty payments associated with product sales of the TR-1 technology and drug across all indications.

TrojanTec chief scientific officer Christina Kousparou said: "It is thought that p53 signalling is inactivated in virtually all human cancers.

"Our ability to directly ‘replace and repair’ dysfunctional p53/p21, could have unprecedented impact, not only in treating a broad range of haematological and solid tumors that test positive for p53, but TR-1 could also expand the efficacy of many current therapies that rely on a functional p53 pathway."