16th Nov 2016 10:41
LONDON (Alliance News) - Immupharma PLC Wednesday said a paper disclosing the mechanism of action of its cancer compound IPP-204106 was published in medical journal 'Cancer Research'.
IPP-204106 is in development as a potential treatment for various cancers, and involves the development of synthetic peptides, called Nucants, which target surface nucleolin.
As detailed in the paper, nucleolin inhibition is a new anti-cancer therapeutic strategy which has the potential to improve the delivery and efficacy of existing chemotherapeutic drugs, particularly for difficult-to-treat tumours like pancreatic cancer.
"It relies on the modulating effect of the Nucants on angiogenesis, the mechanism which controls the formation of micro vessels. Generally, the tumour generated micro vessels are of poor quality and offer a poor supply of blood and oxygen to the tumour. As a consequence, it makes the tumour much more resistant to cytotoxic drugs," ImmuPharma President and Head of Research & Development Robert Zimmer explained.
"By modulating the tumour micro vessels Nucants ameliorate the blood flow, allow a better oxygen supply and increase the intra-tumoural cytotoxic drug concentration. About threefold increase of cytotoxic drug concentration and threefold decrease in tumour size have been observed in preclinical studies. The intended treatment scheme is to pre-treat the patient with Nucant and then deliver the standard dose of cytotoxic drug, Gemcitabin for example in pancreatic cancer," Zimmer said.
Shares in ImmuPharma were up 2.3% at 37.10 pence Wednesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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