PEP-Therapy and CleveXel Pharma will co-develop targeted therapy in oncology. The product is based on an innovative technology involving bi-functional peptides that penetrate cells, and specifically block pathological mechanisms without affecting physiological mechanisms.
The drug candidate is a cell-penetrating peptide that targets an interaction between two intracellular proteins, Caspase-9 and PP2A. It has been validated on highly-representative preclinical models for human tumors, such as patient-derived xenograft or PDX models. The approach showed targeted efficacy on cancer cells and an absence of toxicity, especially in triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
The partners’ mutual goal is to take the product through to its clinical proof of concept with both costs and benefits being shared. PEP-Therapy intends to benefit from CleveXel’s acceleration programm. This development system already contains two other oncology candidates that are currently profiting from CleveXel’s expertise.
PEP-Therapy, thanks to this partnership, will accelerate the development of its first product towards its clinical trial phase, which is expected to start at the end of 2016. This important deal comes short after the company’s first €1.3M capital increase. Simultaneously, PEP-Therapy will continue the development of companion biomarkers for foreseeing the effectiveness of the product, opening the way for personalized and optimized use of this treatment in oncology.