(Press-News.org) HOUSTON, GOLDEN, Colo. and WATERTOWN, Mass. ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Nexo Therapeutics today announced a multi-year strategic collaboration that aligns the innovative technology and capabilities of each organization at the earliest stages of drug discovery and development to rapidly advance impactful new cancer therapies against previously undruggable targets.
The agreement brings together Nexo’s unique drug discovery platform, which combines innovative covalent chemistry and chemical biology, with the translational research and drug development expertise of MD Anderson’s Translational Research to AdvanCe Therapeutics and Innovation in ONcology (TRACTION) platform. MD Anderson and Nexo will work together from discovery through investigational new drug-enabling studies to accelerate development of small-molecule therapies for patients with limited treatment options.
“We are excited to work with the team of researchers at MD Anderson to discover and develop novel cancer medicines targeting some of the fundamental drivers of cancer that have eluded past efforts,” said Andrew Phillips, Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of Nexo Therapeutics. “By joining our complementary skills and capabilities at the earliest stages of drug discovery, we aim to enhance the prospects of rapidly advancing novel therapies to the clinic.”
Many promising cancer targets present significant hurdles for conventional drug development approaches based on the structure of the target as well as selectivity and pharmacological properties of the drug. The Nexo platform aims to systematically address each of these issues by combining a chemistry engine with chemical biology capabilities.
Nexo’s chemistry engine, CODON (Covalent Discovery and Optimization), combines a proprietary library that leverages chemical diversity and innovative covalent chemistries with scalable biochemical and in-cell proteomics. This allows the company to identify promising hit compounds and to conduct rapid optimization to produce compounds for in vivo studies.
The company’s unique chemical biology approach, INFINI-T (Informed Profile Before Initiation of Target), uses the power of chimeric fusion proteins to address target biology and pharmacology questions. The function of these chimeric proteins can be controlled by small molecules in cellular and in vivo models to generate detailed information about the required depth, duration and selectivity of target inhibition. Importantly, the INFINI-T platform provides target product profiles for medicinal chemistry well in advance of lead optimization. This is expected to decrease the time and capital needed to bring drug candidates to the clinic.
“Together with Nexo’s innovative platform, our integrated approach to translational research and drug development is poised to design and rapidly advance novel therapies against high priority oncology targets,” said Tim Heffernan, Ph.D., vice president of Oncology Research for TRACTION at MD Anderson. “This collaboration highlights our commitment to advancing innovative new medicines that address critical unmet needs for our patients.”
MD Anderson established the TRACTION platform to overcome traditional hurdles in oncology drug development and to quickly and safely advance the right treatments for the right patients. The platform incorporates a variety of cutting-edge technologies, disease modeling approaches and data analytics tools to better inform drug development, from discovery into clinical trials. The TRACTION platform is a core component of MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division, an integrated team of clinicians, researchers and drug development experts working to advance impactful therapies for cancer.
Beginning at the first stages of drug discovery and target identification, TRACTION researchers will collaborate with Nexo to characterize susceptible cancers, to identify potential combination treatment strategies and to evaluate biomarkers that can optimize patient selection.
Nexo and MD Anderson will collaborate on discovery and translation efforts, with the option to extend the collaboration into clinical development. Nexo will provide research support funding, and MD Anderson is eligible to receive certain royalties and payments based on a range of future development, regulatory, commercial and business milestones. Nexo will retain all rights to programs under the collaboration and will have sole responsibility for development, manufacturing and commercialization.
Read this press release on the MD Anderson Newsroom.
- 30 -
Disclosure
MD Anderson has an institutional conflict of interest with Nexo related to this research, and this relationship will be managed according to an MD Anderson Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan.
About Nexo Therapeutics
Nexo Therapeutics is a small-molecule oncology company dedicated to the discovery and development of new drugs for cancer patients who currently lack meaningful therapies. Nexo combines covalent ligand discovery and chemical biology with expertise in cancer biology and medicinal chemistry to target fundamental drivers of cancer by innovative approaches. With facilities in Golden, CO and Watertown, MA, Nexo is led by Founder and CEO, Andrew Phillips, Ph.D. For more information, please visit NexoTx.com.
About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 53 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is No. 1 for cancer in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings and has been named one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer since the rankings began in 1990. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
END
MD Anderson and Nexo Therapeutics announce strategic research collaboration to advance new therapies against intractable targets
Agreement joins complementary strengths at earliest stages of drug discovery and development to accelerate progress
2023-07-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Western science catches up with First Nations’ medicinal use of ant honey
2023-07-26
Scientists have discovered the honey produced by Australian ants possesses unique anti-microbial activity against bacteria and fungi that could make the liquid useful medicinally.
The research, published today in PeerJ, was led by Andrew Dong and Dr Kenya Fernandes from the University of Sydney’s Carter Lab, which is led by Professor Dee Carter from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases.
The team studied the Australian honeypot ant, Camponotus inflatus, which is found throughout desert areas mainly in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Among ...
Children’s Hospital Colorado launches state’s first pediatric precision medicine institute
2023-07-26
Aurora, Colo. (July 26, 2023) – Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) today announced the launch of the Precision Medicine Institute, which will allow experts to more efficiently integrate precision medicine into care provided to patients throughout the hospital. The Precision Medicine Institute uses innovative technology to integrate big data, including genomic data, into each individual patient's care plan to determine the best treatment for each patient.
Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine or genomic medicine, uses the most up-to-date technology ...
Asian adults in U.S. less likely to survive cardiac arrest despite bystander CPR equal to white adults
2023-07-26
Research Highlights:
Despite similar rates of bystander CPR after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, Asian adults in the U.S. were 8% less likely to survive to hospital discharge and 15% less likely to have favorable neurological outcomes compared to white adults, according to an analysis of nearly 279,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
The study is believed to be the first research comparing bystander CPR and survival rates between Asian and white adults in the U.S. after cardiac arrest.
Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, July 26, 2023
DALLAS, July 26, 2023 — Despite similar rates of bystander CPR after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, Asian ...
Arctic terns may navigate climate dangers
2023-07-26
Arctic terns – which fly on the longest migrations of any animal on Earth – may be able to navigate the dangers posed by climate change, new research suggests.
The birds live in near-perpetual daylight, breeding in the north of our planet and flying to Antarctica for the Southern Hemisphere summer, covering enough distance in their lifetime to travel to the moon three times.
The new study, led by the University of Exeter and the Met Office, examined the likely impacts of climate change on arctic terns outside of ...
Bromide ions cause ripples in semiclathrate hydrates
2023-07-26
Osaka, Japan – The way that water molecules behave in proton conducting materials is very important for understanding—and making the most of—their properties. This means being able to look at very rapid snapshots to catch changes in the water motion. Researchers from Osaka University have taken a close look at semiclathrate hydrate crystals using quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS). Their findings are published in Applied Physics Letters.
Semiclathrate hydrates have water molecule frameworks that house other molecules or ions as ‘guests’ in their structures. The overall properties of the framework can therefore be controlled and tailored to particular ...
Intervalence charge transfer of Cr³⁺-Cr³⁺ aggregation for NIR-Ⅱ luminescence
2023-07-26
The near-infrared (NIR) spectrum contains characteristic vibrational absorption bands of numerous organic functional groups. NIR phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pc-LEDs) have gathered increasing interests in fields including non-destructive testing and night vision. In 2016, Osram reported the first NIR pc-LED, SFH4735, while with low output power (16 mW @ 350 mA) and limited wavelengths. Furthermore, luminescent contrast agents operating within the second biological imaging window (1000-1800 nm) exhibit lower tissue absorption and scattering coefficients in contrast to the traditional first window (750-950 nm), thereby ...
International trial shows that interferon could help reduce the spread of COVID-19
2023-07-26
Results of an innovative clinical trial led by Perth researchers have shown that the drug interferon could help reduce the spread of COVID-19 from a positive person to their household contacts, with the study helping to inform treatment options for a future pandemic.
The trial - CONCORD-19 - tracked 1,172 participants in 341 households in Santiago, Chile where there was a positive COVID-19 case between December 2020 and June 2021.
Researchers tested the effectiveness of treating the infected people and their uninfected household contacts with interferon, with the aim of evaluating whether this drug reduces the severity of the disease and the spread of COVID-19 within ...
Dune restoration could increase the resilience of Southern California's urban beaches to sea level rise
2023-07-26
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Over the last several years, the residents of Santa Monica, a coastal city on the edge of Los Angeles, saw something neither they, their parents, or perhaps even their grandparents had ever seen before: a three-foot-tall dune system rising gently from the flat, groomed expanse of one of the world’s most famous urban beaches. It’s a six year alliance between sand, wind and vegetation, and, according to UC Santa Barbara researchers, it’s one way to enlist nature to help protect the coast from the impacts of climate change.
“The project was really to assess whether we could naturally grow dunes on a heavily ...
How to stop obese children having heart disease in adulthood
2023-07-26
Sophia Antipolis, 26 July 2023: Childhood is a window of opportunity to tackle obesity before the damage it causes is irreversible, according to a scientific statement by experts on heart disease and childhood obesity published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The document was produced by the Task Force for Childhood Health of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) of the ESC and the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG).
Childhood obesity is on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, while less than 1% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese in 1975, ...
Static isometric exercise, such as wall sits, best for lowering blood pressure
2023-07-26
Static isometric exercises—the sort that involve engaging muscles without movement, such as wall sits and planks—are best for lowering blood pressure, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence from clinical trials, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
But ‘cardio’ (aerobic exercise); dynamic resistance training, such as squats, press-ups, and weights; high intensity interval training or HIIT for short (episodic short bouts of high intensity exercise ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Caffeine is a heart-healthy habit
Symbiotic bacterium Rickettsia affects the reproduction of a predatory insect, an effective biological control agent for agricultural pests
Wavelength-independent and photoinitiator-free laser 3D nanolithography
Duke-NUS alumnus and mentor develop new precision tool to better predict outcomes for patients with liver cancer
New breakthrough helps free up space for robots to ‘think’, say scientists
Environmental law reform needed to protect endangered marine species
UC Irvine-led team engineers new enzyme to produce synthetic genetic material
New study unveils unique combination of DNA techniques to authenticate ginseng supplements and combat adulteration
Argonne receives funding for artificial intelligence in scientific research
Significant worldwide disparities in availability and timeliness of new cancer drugs
4+ hour emergency care wait linked to heightened risks of death and longer hospital stay for hip fracture patients
Policy change may be helping to drive rise in treatment-resistant vaginal thrush
Heat stress may still affect babies once born, first evidence suggests
Stressed bees lack the buzz in life
UC Irvine researchers discover atomic-level mechanism in polycrystalline materials
USC’s Rong Lu and Caltech’s Michael B. Elowitz win the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for their new approach to study blood and immune cell production in bone marrow
Microwave-induced synthesis of bioactive nitrogen heterocycles
Research to use machine learning to ’reverse-engineer’ new composite materials
New research calls for transparency in Medicare Advantage operations
Applied Biological Laboratories, maker of Biovanta, to present at American Society of Microbiology’s Clinical Virology Symposium 2024
How academia drives sustainability: Discover the impact of science on the SDGs
NOAA awards grant to enhance decision-ready climate projections for diverse stakeholders
Why using a brand nickname in marketing is not a good idea
Asymmetric placebo effect in response to spicy food
Echoes in the brain: Why today’s workout could fuel next week’s bright idea
Salk Institute’s Nicola Allen receives 2024 NIH Director’s Pioneer Award
The secret strength of our cell guards
DataSeer and AAAS partner to boost reporting standards
Mizzou researchers awarded $8 million in grants to discover new bullying prevention strategies
Holographic 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries, say Concordia researchers
[Press-News.org] MD Anderson and Nexo Therapeutics announce strategic research collaboration to advance new therapies against intractable targetsAgreement joins complementary strengths at earliest stages of drug discovery and development to accelerate progress