DepYmed, Inc. (“DepYmed” or the “Company”) and the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (“Monash BDI”) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia announce today that they have entered into a sponsored research agreement (SRA) to explore the potential of the Company’s drug development candidates to treat cancer by targeting a newly discovered intracellular immune checkpoint.
Research Agreement Capitalizes on Newly Published Monash Findings in Peer Reviewed Journal Cancer Discovery1 that PTP1B acts as an Intracellular Checkpoint and PTP1B Inhibition Represses Tumor Growth
NEW YORK, March 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Depymed Inc. (“DepYmed” or the “Company”) and the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (“Monash BDI”) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia announce today that they have entered into a sponsored research agreement (SRA) to explore the potential of the Company’s drug development candidates to treat cancer by targeting a newly discovered intracellular immune checkpoint.
The new agreement builds on recent results from a collaborative study led by Monash BDI that identified a new immune checkpoint that could provide a new therapeutic strategy for treating certain cancers by inhibiting the protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B in T cells, mobilizing the body’s immune system to repress tumour growth. These findings were the subject of a March 8, 2022, Monash BDI press release announcing their publication in a leading peer-reviewed medical journal, Cancer Discovery.2
The study’s findings revealed PTP1B is a novel intracellular checkpoint and that PTP1B inhibition represses tumor growth and enhances the response of surface checkpoint inhibitors when used in combination. It also demonstrated that PTP1B inhibition increased the activity of CAR-T cells, an innovative form of immunotherapy that has to date only been useful in blood cancers, in a solid tumor model.
“This partnership is an important part of our development strategy, as we begin to explore the incredible potential of PTP1B inhibition in a research and commercial environment that is tuned into checkpoint inhibition. We believe this represents an untapped approach to treating cancers and we anticipate further exploration,” commented Andreas Grill, DepYmed’s CEO. “The results from the publication are extremely encouraging and we look forward to the results of this collaboration with Monash BDI.”
T cells are a critical part of the body’s immune system that help prevent the growth of cancer cells. One of the important ways that cancers develop occurs when cancer cells acquire the ability to evade recognition by T cells. This new study found that PTP1B is increased in T cells in cancer, limiting their ability to attack tumour cells. In recent years, new cancer therapies that target immune checkpoints on the surface of T cells has revolutionized the treatment of many cancers. However, many patients do not respond or develop resistance to these checkpoint inhibitors, creating a significant need for new treatments that can be used in these patients or in combination with surface checkpoint inhibitors.
DepYmed is developing a new class of drug candidates that act by inhibiting PTP1B. The research sponsored under the new agreement aims to confirm that its drug candidates also target this intracellular checkpoint mechanism and inhibit tumor growth in preclinical cancer models. Confirmation of this novel mechanism would underscore the therapeutic potential of DepYmed’s drug candidates in cancer. The Company is the first to develop orally bioavailable PTP1B inhibitors and hopes to initiate Phase 1 clinical trials for these candidates later this year. Its drug development programs are based on the research of Nicholas Tonks, Caryl Boies Professor of Cancer Research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the original discoverer of the PTP1B pathway. Professor Tonks was also a collaborator in the Cancer Discovery publication.
The sponsored research under the SRA will be conducted at the Monash BDI laboratory of Professor Tony Tiganis, the paper’s senior author.
About DepYmed, Inc.
DepYmed Inc., is a New York based cancer and rare disease therapeutic development company that was founded to capitalize on the scientific discoveries of the Tonks lab in PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) signaling and ways to modulate its role in various human diseases. DepYmed is currently developing a new class of potent, orally bioavailable inhibitors of the PTP1B enzyme as potential novel therapeutics for different types of cancer and Rett Syndrome. In addition, DepYmed has also discovered a novel class of small molecules with copper chelating properties that it is developing as potential therapeutic agents for diseases like Wilson Disease and various cancers. The company is actively developing a deep pipeline of new compounds in these emerging drug classes in collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to exploit their broad therapeutic potential.
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Spanning seven discovery programs across Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Development and Stem Cells, Infection, Immunity, Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity, and Neuroscience, Monash BDI is one of the largest biomedical research institutes in Australia. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.
For Media Inquiries please contact:
Jules Abraham
JQA Partners, Inc.
jabraham@jqapartners.com
917-885-7378
DepYmed:
info@depymedinc.com
Monash BDI
wendy.smith1@monash.edu
+61 (0) 425 725 836
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1 PTP1B is an intracellular checkpoint that limits T cell and CAR T cell anti-tumour immunity.
DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0694
2 https://www.monash.edu/discovery-institute/news-and-events/news/2022-articles/a-new-approach-for-bolstering-the-ability-of-t-cells-to-fight-cancer
