Study suggests Reata drug effective against lung cancer

In this study, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Dartmouth Medical School, rats were treated with RTA403 and exposed to a potent natural carcinogen known as aflatoxin.

Aflatoxin is produced by a mold affecting agricultural crops and causes the formation of liver tumors in rats and in humans. Dietary exposure to aflatoxin, especially in the presence of chronic viral hepatitis, is a major cause of liver cancer in Asia and many other parts of the world.

When RTA403 was administered both before and after exposure to aflatoxin, the number of premalignant nodules in the liver was reduced by 85% at the lowest dose, and 99% at the highest dose. The presence of such nodules is highly correlated with development of cancerous liver tumors, and inhibiting their formation is of high clinical significance.

Researchers attribute the cancer preventive effects of RTA403 to the activation of Nrf2, a gene that regulates important antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes with the cell. RTA403 and Reata’s other synthetic triterpenoids have been shown in previous studies to be highly potent activators of this pathway.

“These striking in vivo data indicate these drugs do indeed hold great promise for preventing, as well as treating, cancer. Reata looks forward to collaborating with the outstanding researchers at John Hopkins and Dartmouth to fully understand and exploit the full potential of this exciting new class of targeted therapies for cancer,” said Warren Huff, Reata’s CEO.