Innovation award for Ferrier Researchers
The award recognises their advances in developing a new orally available triple-negative breast cancer drug.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed female tissue cancer—nearly 12 percent of women are expected to develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for 15 to 20 percent of all diagnosed breast cancers worldwide. Patients have a poorer prognosis and lower survival rate if they relapse after treatment, compared with other breast cancers.
The drug was developed in collaboration with Professor Vern Schramm’s team at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. The team analyses the transition states of enzymes involved in the growth and proliferation of cancers, while the Ferrier chemists design and synthesise inhibitor compounds to block the enzymes.
The long-standing collaboration has generated some of the most powerful enzyme inhibitors ever reported. Two of the agents developed by the partnership have already completed Phase IIb clinical trials for leukemia and gout.
The breast cancer drug (MTDIA) has been signed to Nanometics Lab, a United States-based private company, for development. Early stage clinical research will be funded through United States government grants, partnerships and venture capital investment. Nanometics will recruit a pharmaceutical partner for later stage clinical evaluations and commercialisation at an appropriate time.
The project team members were Drs Gary Evans, Shivali Gulab and Peter Tyler (Ferrier) and Peter Kelly (GlycoSyn) who are now refining a method to make more of the drug in larger quantities at GlycoSyn for the clinical trials.
Dr Richard Furneaux, Director of the Ferrier Research Institute was pleased to accept the award with Vikki Yeoman from Callaghan Innovation. “We anticipate that successful development of MTDIA as an oral, non-toxic therapeutic will provide a valuable treatment option for patients. It could be used as a single agent or in combination with existing chemotherapies following surgery or radiation.”
The judges noted, “This project is clearly well advanced and built on a solid long-term partnership between researchers in New Zealand and the USA. The team has an excellent track record in both publication and commercialisation. This project has good potential to succeed, backed by strong animal data and with a commercialisation arrangement in place.”