Date: 2011-09-07
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: AT-406 (Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein - called Debio 1143 by Debiopharm)
Company: Debiopharm (Switzerland) Ascenta Therapeutics (USA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: licensing
development
commercialisation
Action mechanism: AT-406 is an orally available small molecule that neutralizes major inhibitors of apoptosis. Apoptosis, or “programmed cell death,” is a precisely regulated, complex process ensuring that defective, damaged or superfluous cells are eliminated. Evasion of apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer, enabling cancer cells to live indefinitely and grow uncontrollably. Most current cancer therapies, including chemotherapeutic agents, radiation, and immunotherapy, work by inducing apoptosis. However, because of molecular alterations in the apoptotic pathways, many cancer cells are resistant or develop resistance to these agents. A promising new direction for drug development involves targeting apoptotic pathways directly to induce cell death and/or restore sensitivity to other treatments. AT-406 was discovered in the laboratory of Dr. Shaomeng Wang at the University of Michigan.
Disease: various undisclosed cancers
Details: Debiopharm and Ascenta Therapeutics have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement concerning the development and commercialization of AT-406 (called Debio 1143 by Debiopharm) a small molecule IAP inhibitor currently in phase I development. By targeting inhibitors of apoptosis proteins, AT-406 (or Debio 1143) can induce cancer cell death and/or potentiate the efficacy of other treatments and is expected to be effective in the treatment of various cancers in combination with anti-cancer therapies.
Financial terms:
Latest news:
