Date: 2017-03-20
Type of
information: Presentation of results at a congress
phase: preclinical
Announcement: presentation of results at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting
Company: Erytech Pharma (France)
Product: erymethionase (ERY-MET)
Action
mechanism:
- enzyme. Erymethionase is a methionine gamma-lyase (MGL, methioninase) enzyme encapsulated in red blood cells using Erytech’s proprietary Erycaps technology platform to provide effective, long-acting therapeutic activity with reduced toxicity. In addition to the homocystinuria program, Erytech is developing erymethionase as a product candidate targeting cancer metabolism.
Disease:
Therapeutic
area: Cancer - Oncology
Country:
Trial
details:
Latest
news:
- • On March 20, 2017, Erytech Pharma announced the presentation of new anti-tumor data supporting the Company’s preclinical product erymethionase (ERY-MET) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. Results from the preclinical study demonstrate that erymethionase represents a promising new treatment approach against a broad range of cancers that rely on methionine metabolism. The research has been presented by Dr. Vanessa Bourgeaux, Program Leader at Erytech, during a poster session.
- Fast-growing tumor cells exhibit very high requirements of methionine to proliferate. Methionine gamma-lyase (MGL) mediates tumor starvation via systemic lowering of methionine levels. This enzyme has a short half-life and is dependent on a co-factor, a Vitamin B6 derivative which is naturally present in red blood cells, to demonstrate enzymatic activity. The preclinical studies in mouse models of erymethionase aimed to investigate the protection of MGL against degradation and immune reactions through encapsulation in erythrocytes. Erytech researchers demonstrated that encapsulation of MGL in red blood cells both strongly improved the half-life of the enzyme and provided active co-factor to increase MGL activity and therefore, tumor starvation. The half-life of MGL increased from less than 24 hours when free to more than 10 days when encapsulated in red blood cells, with no toxicity reported. The preclinical study showed that combining a single weekly intravenous injection of erymethionase with daily pyridoxine supplementation led to a sustained methionine depletion in the plasma, and an inhibition of tumor growth for 45 days following the fifth erymethionase dose of 85% in the glioblastoma mouse model, and of 72% in the gastric cancer mouse model. Repeated injections of ERY-MET were also effective against established tumors in the gastric cancer model leading to a complete tumor regression.
- • On January 17, 2017, Erytech Pharma announced new data supporting its second product candidate ERY-MET will be presented at the 2017 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO GI). The findings from the preclinical studies demonstrate that ERY-MET can inhibit tumor growth in a murine model of human gastric adenocarcinoma. This effect can be regulated by Vitamin B6 supplementation.
Is
general: Yes
