Nuovo Biologics, Auburn University partner to develop new cancer therapies

Researchers from both the parties will initially focus on canine malignant melanoma, or skin cancer, and test Nuovo’s new anti-cancer peptide drug MMX for its ability to treat these tumors.

Recently, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) had awarded a grant funded by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support a clinical trial of the new peptide treatment at Auburn University.

AURIC director and leader of the Auburn component of the research effort Dr Bruce Smith noted that the clinical trial will start enrolling patients as early as June or July.

Nuovo Biologics CEO Dr Jay Yourist said: "This clinical trial represents the next step in moving MMX forward to FDA approval.

In collaboration with AURIC, Nuovo is pursuing a wide variety of interdisciplinary cancer research, ranging from identifying the basic mechanisms that make normal cells become cancerous to a variety of new approaches to treating cancers, he added.

Both the companies take a one-health/one-medicine approach to cancer treatment, allowing discoveries in one species to be translated to other species.