Modifi Biosciences announced today that the journal Science has published a critical study validating the corporate’s novel oncology platform based on latest classes of molecules that exploit tumor-associated DNA repair defects through direct cancer cell DNA modification.

The corporate closed a $6.4M seed round, which can support IND-enabling studies and expansion of the platform to focus on cancers with other DNA repair defects. Key investors on this round include HighCape Capital; Connecticut Innovations; Ironwood Capital; the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, an affiliate of the National Brain Tumor Society; and Yale Ventures.

This approach redefines the foundations on tips on how to selectively kill cancer cells via direct DNA modification and positions our company as a frontrunner on this emerging field of oncology drug development.”

Ranjit Bindra MD, PhD, Study Co-Lead Creator and Co-Founder, Modifi Bio

Bindra is the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale School of Medicine and Scientific Director of the Yale Brain Tumor Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital. “As a brain tumor doctor treating patients for over a decade, my colleagues and I actually have seen gliomas take the lives of too many patients. Our discovery represents a serious step forward in changing the treatment paradigm for this devastating disease, in addition to for a lot of other cancers with intrinsic DNA repair defects.”

The technology bypasses conventional approaches that obliquely goal proteins in cancer cells and demonstrates robust anti-tumor activity in glioma, one among the deadliest types of brain cancer, while sparing normal tissue. Within the Science publication, the group’s latest class of molecules were found to be exquisitely energetic and selective against cancer cells that lack expression of a key DNA repair protein called MGMT (O6-methylguanine methyl transferase).

Roughly half of all glioblastomas and as much as 80% of gliomas lack MGMT. Emerging research indicates that MGMT deficiency is seen in lots of other tumor types, suggesting broad applicability for this strategy in treating cancer.

Modifi Bio is making a latest class of molecules, based on research conducted at Yale, that fragment in cells and induce DNA modifications, that are irreparable in cancer cells with DNA repair defects. Modifi Bio’s compounds are designed to be orally bioavailable and possess favorable drug-like properties, which can allow them to rapidly file an Investigative Latest Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in anticipation of Phase I clinical trials in 2024.

“These molecules are particularly promising as therapeutics due to their ability to directly modify DNA of cancer cells, which we imagine is not going to only be effective in fighting cancer but may even allow us to beat key resistance mechanisms,” said Seth Herzon, PhD, study co-lead creator, Modifi Bio co-founder, and the Milton Harris ’29 PhD Professor of Chemistry in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“Novel treatments for most of these brain cancer are urgently needed. I’m enthusiastic that this paradigm-shifting discovery may result in the primary clinically meaningful pharmacological advances within the treatment of glioma in over 20 years,” said Roger Stupp, MD, a member of the Modifi Bio Scientific Advisory Board, Paul C. Bucy Professor of Neurological surgery, and Chief of Neuro-oncology at Northwestern University. Stupp first published the pivotal studies over 20 years ago, which define the present standard of look after glioma.

Source:

Journal reference:

Lin, K., et al. (2022) Mechanism-based design of agents that selectively goal drug-resistant glioma. Science. doi.org/10.1126/science.abn7570