Date: 2012-11-05
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: studies of anti-cancer activity of molecules
Company: Curie-Cancer (France) Institut Curie (France) Harmonic Pharma (France)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: R&D
clinical research
Action mechanism:
Disease: breast cancer, eye cancer, lung cancer
Details: Curie-Cancer, the body responsible for developing Institut Curie’s industry partnership activities and Harmonic Pharma, which is developing solutions for extending the therapeutic application of compounds already on the market, have entered into a research collaboration aimed at exploring the anti-cancer activity of several molecules in Harmonic Pharma’s portfolio.
Harmonic Pharma’s main focus is on identifying new therapeutic uses for compounds that are already on the market or at an advanced stage of development, using an approach known as molecular repositioning.
The targeted biological receptor, already known for its role in facilitating the entry of the HIV virus into lymphocytes, is also involved in three of the most important stages of the development of cancer: tumor proliferation, the migration of tumor cells to other tissues and the invasion of these other tissues, which results in the formation of distant metastases.
To validate the initial observations made in in vitro cellular models, Curie-Cancer gave Harmonic Pharma access to animal models that are highly representative of cancer in humans, as well as to the know-how of its researchers with a deep understanding of metastatic processes. “By studying the results that Harmonic Pharma has already obtained in vitro, and taking account of the role of the receptor of interest in these types of cancer, we rapidly turned towards three types of model for which we have a wide variety of tumors and considerable experience, namely breast cancer, lung cancer and eye cancer,” explained Didier Decaudin, who runs the Institut Curie’s preclinical investigation laboratory.
Depending on the results, Curie-Cancer may take over some of the molecules being studied and put them through clinical trials. This research agreement involves both applied research in the development of products that could be rapidly commercialized and fundamental research that will help improve understanding of the receptor’s role in breast, lung and eye cancers. This collaboration is expected to run for several years.
Financial terms: Costs will be shared.
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