Somanta Signs Cancer Drug Development Agreement With University of Bradford
Somanta Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:SMPM) today announced that the Company has signed a research collaboration agreement with the University of Bradford, Leed, United Kingdom, giving Somanta the rights to new data, inventions and discoveries in certain areas of cancer research at the University’s Institute for Cancer Therapeutics (www.cancer.Brad.ac.uk).
As part of the agreement, the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics will also continue development work on two of Somanta’s pre-clinical cancer drugs, Alchemix and Prodrax, which were invented by Professor Laurence Patterson.
Under the direction of Professor Patterson, The Institute of Cancer Therapeutics is devoted to the design, synthesis and evaluation of anticancer therapies, and has a long-standing history of collaborating with external partners to evaluate novel anticancer agents for efficacy, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. The ICT’s development of therapeutic strategies against tumor resistance and systemic toxicity include:
— Tumor hypoxia selective agents
— Tumor-specific activation by metabolism of prodrugs
— Agents that inhibit DNA processing & higher order DNA structure
— Agents that target metastatic potential
Agamemnon Epenetos, MD, PhD, chief executive officer of Somanta, commented, “This agreement will help Somanta stay at the forefront of innovations in some the most promising areas of cancer research, and has the potential to provide new drugs for our development pipeline. Professor Patterson and his research team are highly regarded for their discoveries regarding tumor resistance, and we are fortunate to be involved with their continued progress.”
Professor Patterson commented, “I am delighted that the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Bradford has entered into this agreement with Somanta, and feel confident that we will quickly move this project forward. We are building on over 10 years of anticancer agent development in this area and are delighted that Somanta shares our vision as to their potential therapeutic value in tumors resistant to the currently available cancer medicines.”
About Somanta Pharmaceuticals
Somanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Somanta”) is a specialty oncology company with particular focus on in-licensing anti-cancer agents with substantial clinical data supporting safety and efficacy. To date, the Company has successfully in-licensed the rights to five products, each with a different mode of action and targeting eleven different cancer types.
Somanta’s lead pre-clinical drug candidate is Alchemix, a pan-target inhibitor that is responsive in tumors resistant to conventional agents by targeting and irreversibly binding to DNA / DNA processing enzymes. The Company believes Alchemix has the ability to overcome many different pathways of drug resistance, and will be studied in a broad range of cancers including lung, colon, ovarian and renal cancers. Preclinical proof of principle animal studies have been completed, and a Phase IIa dose escalation trial is being planned. Somanta’s platform technology, Prodrax, is a novel family of prodrugs that enables compounds to remain inert until they reach the hypoxic region of tumors where they become toxic, effectively enabling the killing of tumors from the inside out. Additionally, the Company is developing a humanized monoclonal antibody, Angiolix, which appears to induce cell death selectively to tumor blood vessels. Both Prodrax and Angiolix are in the preclinical phase.
Somanta’s two clinical drug candidates, Phoenix, a unique humanized monoclonal antibody delivering selective radiation to tumors, and Sodium Phenylbutyrate, an HDAC inhibitor, are in investigator-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trials. Both have shown initial signs of clinical benefit in patients with cancer and have well known safety profiles. Phoenix, Somanta’s most advanced product, is a radio-labelled humanized monoclonal antibody with high affinity for targeting MUC-1. Sodium Phenylbutyrate (PB) is a safe, well-tolerated compound that has been used in a small pediatric indication, hyperuremia, for many years. Recent NIH sponsored trials in a variety of cancers have generated significant human data into the treatment of various cancers. PB is a known inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC), which regulates cell growth and death. Early indications of efficacy are for CNS cancer, myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myelogenous leukaemia, acute promyelocytic leukaemia, and colon cancer.
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Because these statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specifically, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and in Somanta’s compounds under development in particular; the potential failure of Somanta’s compounds under development to prove safe and effective for treatment of disease; uncertainties inherent in the early stage of Somanta’s compounds under development; failure to successfully implement or complete clinical trials; failure to receive marketing clearance from regulatory agencies for our compounds under development; acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, licenses or strategic initiatives that change Somanta’s business, structure or projections; the development of competing products; uncertainties related to Somanta’s dependence on third parties and partners; and those risks described in Somanta’s filings with the SEC. Somanta disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.