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news.Aprea Therapeutics has signed a material transfer agreement (MTA) with MD Anderson Cancer Center to explore APR-1051 for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
The therapy is being evaluated in the ongoing multi-centre Phase I trial. Credit: Diane Serik on Unsplash.
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The collaboration aims to explore this WEE1 kinase inhibitor for treating human papillomavirus + (HPV+) and HPV- HNSCC with specific genomic markers.
As per the agreement, Aprea will provide the therapy for backing pre-clinical studies that could pave the way for future trials. The company is set to retain the therapy’s title, interest, and complete rights.
The research group at MD Anderson will carry out experiments to assess the preliminary efficacy and mechanistic data of the therapy, especially when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for treating HNSCC tumours.
Professors Jeffrey Myers and Abdullah Osman from MD Anderson’s Department of Head and Neck Surgery are leading the project.
Aprea Therapeutics CEO and president Oren Gilad said: “This agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center underscores our commitment to leveraging strong academic partnerships to advance our pipeline of DDR inhibitors.
“HNSCC represents a major global health burden, and prior work conducted at MD Anderson, and published by Professors Myers, Osman, and their colleagues, suggests that WEE1 kinase may present a promising therapeutic target. We look forward to the insights that will emerge from this important research.”
A selective small molecule, APR-1051 is tailored to address tolerability challenges associated with the WEE1 class and potentially exhibit clinical activity.
It is also being evaluated in the ongoing multi-centre Phase I ACESOT-1051 trial. This study will assess the inhibitor as a monotherapy in individuals with advanced solid tumours that have cancer-associated gene alterations.
