Science Translational Medicine Publishes Breakthrough Finding From Cleveland BioLabs and Incuron on Identification of Target and Mechanism of Action of Novel Anticancer Agents Curaxins
Press Release Source: Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. On Wednesday August 10, 2011, 2:05 pm EDT
BUFFALO, NY–(Marketwire -08/10/11)-
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI – News) and Incuron, LLC today announced that Science Translational Medicine, a leading peer-reviewed research magazine dedicated to communication and cross-fertilization among basic, translational, and clinical research, has published breakthrough findings regarding the deciphered mechanism of action of anticancer drug candidates, Curaxins. The paper titled: “Curaxins: Anticancer Compounds that Simultaneously Suppress NF-kappaB and activate p53 by Targeting FACT,” shows that Curaxins’ ability to inhibit tumor cell growth and division is mediated by functional inactivation of a chromatin remodeling complex named Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT), which makes it a novel cancer treatment target. The paper is co-authored by a large group of investigators, predominantly from Cleveland BioLabs and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, led by Katerina Gurova, Ph.D., former Director of Anticancer Drug Discovery at CBLI, who is currently on faculty at Roswell Park.
Curaxins are synthetic small molecules designed to simultaneously target major cell stress response pathways that are frequently deregulated in cancer. Although their ability to activate p53 and inhibit NF-kappaB has been known as a signature property of these molecules, the mechanism through which Curaxins caused these effects remained unknown. The peer-reviewed paper describes the manner in which Curaxins act by intercalating in the minor groove of DNA, resulting in FACT trapping chromatin, thus making the cell deficient in this factor. Trapped FACT stimulates activation of the major tumor suppressor protein p53 that is commonly inactive in tumors. At the same time, trapping FACT makes the tumor cell incapable of conducting its normal functions, such as promoting NF-kappaB, an important pro-survival factor that is constitutively active in tumors and plays the role of an oncogene. Importantly, the mechanism of action of Curaxins does not involve DNA damage, a typical side effect of conventional chemotherapy drugs.
Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., D.Sci., Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs and Incuron, LLC, and Senior Vice President of Basic Science at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, commented, “The findings highlighted by this publication introduce both a novel anticancer target and a new class of DNA intercalators that exert their function without genotoxic effects. By hitting multiple cancer treatment targets, Curaxins resemble long known and very efficacious anticancer drugs, such as doxorubicin or cisplatin, but without their genotoxicity, which is the main challenge of historical chemotherapies. Our studies continue to reinforce our belief that Curaxins are promising drug candidates that may be effective against a wide range of cancer types. Our hope is that the lack of mutagenic activity and multi-targeted nature of Curaxins should make it difficult for tumors to develop treatment resistant variants, the most common obstacle of cancer therapy.”
Curaxins are being developed by Incuron, LLC, a Moscow-based joint venture between Cleveland BioLabs and Bioprocess Capital Ventures. A multi-center, Phase I single-dose ascending trial of CBLC102 (the predecessor of these Curaxins, formerly known as anti-malaria drug quinacrine), is ongoing in patients with gastrointestinal and liver tumors in The Russian Federation.
A Phase I clinical trial of the oral formulation of next generation Curaxin CBLC137 in solid tumors is planned to start in the first quarter of 2012 in The Russian Federation. An intravenous formulation of the compound is currently being developed to further optimize the bioavailability of CBLC137, with plans to initiate a Phase I trial in the United States as soon as formal preclinical toxicology and other preparations supporting an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) filing are completed.
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. To learn more about Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., please visit the company’s website at http://www.cbiolabs.com.
About Incuron, LLC
Incuron, LLC is a joint venture between Russian Closed Mutual Venture Fund “Bioprocess Capital Ventures,” and Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. Bioprocess Capital Ventures is a Russian Federation Venture Capital Fund managed by “Bioprocess Capital Partners, LLC,” which was founded by several Russian investors including “Russian Venture Company,” JSC and state corporation VneshEconomBank (VEB). The Fund focuses on investments in innovative projects in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and fine chemistry sectors of the economy. Incuron’s strategy includes preclinical and clinical development of breakthrough biotechnologies discovered by CBLI with the subsequent introduction of brand new anticancer drugs with novel mechanism of action (“Curaxins”) to both Russian and American markets. To learn more about Incuron, LLC, please visit the company’s website at http://eng.incuron.ru/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
These factors include, among others, the Company’s history of operating losses and the potential for future losses, which may lead the Company to not be able to continue as a going concern; the Company’s need for substantial additional financing to meet its business objectives; the potential for the loss of funding from the Company’s R&D grants and contracts and its ability to win additional funding under such grants and contracts; the Company’s failure to successfully and timely develop new products; the risks inherent in the early stages of drug development and in conducting clinical trials; the Company’s inability to obtain regulatory approval in a timely manner or at all; the Company’s collaborative relationships and the financial risks related thereto; the Company’s ability to comply with its obligations under license agreements; the potential for significant product liability claims; and the Company’s ability to comply with various safety, environmental and other governmental regulations. Some of these factors could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements. See also the “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” described in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Science Translational Medicine Publishes Breakthrough Finding From Cleveland BioLabs and Incuron on Identification of Target and Mechanism of Action of Novel Anticancer Agents Curaxins
Press Release Source: Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. On Wednesday August 10, 2011, 2:05 pm EDT
BUFFALO, NY–(Marketwire -08/10/11)-
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI – News) and Incuron, LLC today announced that Science Translational Medicine, a leading peer-reviewed research magazine dedicated to communication and cross-fertilization among basic, translational, and clinical research, has published breakthrough findings regarding the deciphered mechanism of action of anticancer drug candidates, Curaxins. The paper titled: “Curaxins: Anticancer Compounds that Simultaneously Suppress NF-kappaB and activate p53 by Targeting FACT,” shows that Curaxins’ ability to inhibit tumor cell growth and division is mediated by functional inactivation of a chromatin remodeling complex named Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT), which makes it a novel cancer treatment target. The paper is co-authored by a large group of investigators, predominantly from Cleveland BioLabs and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, led by Katerina Gurova, Ph.D., former Director of Anticancer Drug Discovery at CBLI, who is currently on faculty at Roswell Park.
Curaxins are synthetic small molecules designed to simultaneously target major cell stress response pathways that are frequently deregulated in cancer. Although their ability to activate p53 and inhibit NF-kappaB has been known as a signature property of these molecules, the mechanism through which Curaxins caused these effects remained unknown. The peer-reviewed paper describes the manner in which Curaxins act by intercalating in the minor groove of DNA, resulting in FACT trapping chromatin, thus making the cell deficient in this factor. Trapped FACT stimulates activation of the major tumor suppressor protein p53 that is commonly inactive in tumors. At the same time, trapping FACT makes the tumor cell incapable of conducting its normal functions, such as promoting NF-kappaB, an important pro-survival factor that is constitutively active in tumors and plays the role of an oncogene. Importantly, the mechanism of action of Curaxins does not involve DNA damage, a typical side effect of conventional chemotherapy drugs.
Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., D.Sci., Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs and Incuron, LLC, and Senior Vice President of Basic Science at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, commented, “The findings highlighted by this publication introduce both a novel anticancer target and a new class of DNA intercalators that exert their function without genotoxic effects. By hitting multiple cancer treatment targets, Curaxins resemble long known and very efficacious anticancer drugs, such as doxorubicin or cisplatin, but without their genotoxicity, which is the main challenge of historical chemotherapies. Our studies continue to reinforce our belief that Curaxins are promising drug candidates that may be effective against a wide range of cancer types. Our hope is that the lack of mutagenic activity and multi-targeted nature of Curaxins should make it difficult for tumors to develop treatment resistant variants, the most common obstacle of cancer therapy.”
Curaxins are being developed by Incuron, LLC, a Moscow-based joint venture between Cleveland BioLabs and Bioprocess Capital Ventures. A multi-center, Phase I single-dose ascending trial of CBLC102 (the predecessor of these Curaxins, formerly known as anti-malaria drug quinacrine), is ongoing in patients with gastrointestinal and liver tumors in The Russian Federation.
A Phase I clinical trial of the oral formulation of next generation Curaxin CBLC137 in solid tumors is planned to start in the first quarter of 2012 in The Russian Federation. An intravenous formulation of the compound is currently being developed to further optimize the bioavailability of CBLC137, with plans to initiate a Phase I trial in the United States as soon as formal preclinical toxicology and other preparations supporting an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) filing are completed.
The Science Translational Medicine publication may be found online at: http://www.sciencetranslationalmedicine.org/
About Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. To learn more about Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., please visit the company’s website at http://www.cbiolabs.com.
About Incuron, LLC
Incuron, LLC is a joint venture between Russian Closed Mutual Venture Fund “Bioprocess Capital Ventures,” and Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. Bioprocess Capital Ventures is a Russian Federation Venture Capital Fund managed by “Bioprocess Capital Partners, LLC,” which was founded by several Russian investors including “Russian Venture Company,” JSC and state corporation VneshEconomBank (VEB). The Fund focuses on investments in innovative projects in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and fine chemistry sectors of the economy. Incuron’s strategy includes preclinical and clinical development of breakthrough biotechnologies discovered by CBLI with the subsequent introduction of brand new anticancer drugs with novel mechanism of action (“Curaxins”) to both Russian and American markets. To learn more about Incuron, LLC, please visit the company’s website at http://eng.incuron.ru/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
These factors include, among others, the Company’s history of operating losses and the potential for future losses, which may lead the Company to not be able to continue as a going concern; the Company’s need for substantial additional financing to meet its business objectives; the potential for the loss of funding from the Company’s R&D grants and contracts and its ability to win additional funding under such grants and contracts; the Company’s failure to successfully and timely develop new products; the risks inherent in the early stages of drug development and in conducting clinical trials; the Company’s inability to obtain regulatory approval in a timely manner or at all; the Company’s collaborative relationships and the financial risks related thereto; the Company’s ability to comply with its obligations under license agreements; the potential for significant product liability claims; and the Company’s ability to comply with various safety, environmental and other governmental regulations. Some of these factors could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements. See also the “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” described in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.