SOM Biotech licenses drug candidate for glioblastoma to Argon Pharma
Now Argon Pharma faces the challenges of chemically optimizing SOM0777 and developing oral oncology treatments to launch to market.
By Biocat
SOM Biotech, specializing the discovery and development of new indications for existing drugs, has sold the rights to their product SOM0777 to Argon Pharma, which develops anti-tumor drugs. This product has potential properties to treat multiple glioblastoma, which, although considered a minority disease, is the most common and malignant form of brain tumor with average patient survival of 14 months.
SOM0777 inhibits the proteins involved in binding cells to their environment and has been proven effective in vitro against malignant cells in glioblastoma.
As these two companies based in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) have confirmed, it is a molecule with a completely new chemical structure, making it an ideal candidate for a screening program and to identify new inhibitors, with the potential to treat other oncology indications like ovarian, breast or colon cancer or fibrosarcoma.
The research carried out by SOM Biotech that has led to SOM0777, using their proprietary virtual-screening computational platform, lasted more than three years with an investment of €240,000 in private capital, grants and public loans.
Now, after acquiring the license, Argon Pharma is facing the challenge of chemically optimizing SOM0777, as it has never been administered to humans, and developing new oral treatments from this molecule. This biotechnology firm plans to frame future development of SOM0777 under the European WispATDrug project, which aims to create new oral drugs for minority cancers.
More information is available on the PCB website.