1.7 Million Dollars Grant Towards Development of Theratechnologies’ Targeted Oncology
MONTREAL, Oct. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Theratechnologies Inc. (Theratechnologies) (TSX: TH) is pleased to announce that the Canadian Cancer Society and the Government of Quebec, through the Consortium Qubcois sur la dcouverte du mdicament (CQDM), will contribute to a grant totaling 1.7 million dollars to l’Universit du Qubec Montral (UQAM) as part of the overall investment made by Theratechnologies towards the development of its targeted oncology platform.
The funds have been earmarked for work conducted by Dr Borhane Annabi at the Molecular Oncology Laboratory of the UQAM. Dr Annabi and his team will focus their efforts on the development of the targeted oncology platform in triple-negative breast cancer.
“The contribution of the Canadian Cancer Society and the CQDM is a concrete demonstration of the great interest our targeted oncology platform is creating. Their support gives us even more reason to be enthusiastic about this unique technology. We still aim to initiate clinical trials in human subjects by the end of 2020,” said Luc Tanguay, President and Chief Executive Officer, Theratechnologies.
There is still currently a significant unmet need for the treatment of many cancer types, due to very serious side-effects associated with currently available agents.
Theratechnologies’ proprietary technology uses peptides to specifically target sortilin receptors, which are overexpressed on cancer cells. Commonly used cytotoxic agents are attached to the peptides which bind to the targeted receptors. As a cellular mechanism known as endocytosis occurs, the targeted receptors are internalized along with the peptide conjugate. In vitro and in vivo study results obtained so far show that this targeted approach significantly reduces the accumulation of cytotoxic agents in healthy cells, thereby potentially reducing side effects associated to chemotherapy.
“The CCS will invest in this project a portion of the funds collected during the CIBC Run for the Cure. In total, we will invest approximately $11,500,000 over the next few years towards the development of innovative drugs and to increase the survival rate of women dealing with an aggressive and hard to treat breast cancer,” said Denis Lalonde, Executive Director, CCS - Quebec. “The partnership between the CCS and the CQDM and biotech companies like Theratechnologies is a great success and a model of research financing which will benefit women in Quebec and Canada, added Mr. Lalonde.”
“CQDM is very pleased to support this project which should bring us closer to finding a cure for the most aggressive form of breast cancer. We are relying on the world-class innovative spirit and expertise of Professor Annabi and Theratechnologies to bring this new drug from bench to bedside as quickly as possible”, said Diane Gosselin, President and CEO of CQDM.
As previously announced, the acquisition cost of Theratechnologies’ proprietary targeted oncology platform from Katana Biopharma Inc. will be adjusted to reflect the grant of this subsidy.
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