RAC (ASX) Cardioprotection thread

Originally posted by johndprent: ↑

CPACS Timeline, Inferred Opportunity.

24 March 2021 - entered into a collaborative preclinical research program with The University ofNewcastle to investigate the heart safety Bisantrene offers over current anthracyclinetherapeutics.

22 November 2021 - Interim results - "This research has found that Zantrene is able to protect heart muscle cells fromanthracycline (specifically doxorubicin) induced cell death while improving the killingof breast cancer cells." Note the reference to Human Cardiomyocytes (HCM).

8 December 2021 - Further results - "This research has found that Zantrene is able to also protect heart muscle cells froma new class of anti-cancer drug (carfilzomib) induced cell death while improving thecarfilzomib-mediated killing of cancer cells." Note that carfilzomib is a different drug class (Proteosome Inhibitor) to the Anthracyclines.

10 December 2021 - "RAC extended and expanded its collaborative cardio-protective research program... and will explore the cardio-protective attributes of Zantrene in vitro whenused in combination with an expanded panel of anti-cancerdrugs known to damage thehearts of cancer patients, as well as to undertake animal studies.

1 June 2022 - The CPACS team is awarded $1m from the Australian Medical Research Future Fund. The program commences on 1 June 2022 and ends on 31 May 2025.

30 June 2022 - The CPACS discovery is replicated in mice.

February 2023 - Doan Ngo awarded 2022 Game Changer Award at the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) for the discovery that the drug Zan could be repurposed to treat cancer while sparing the heart from toxicity that can occur with other chemotherapy drugs.

2 March 2023 - Began a new collaborative research project with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(USA) to uncover at the molecular level how Zan protects the heart fromchemotherapy. Distinguished cardiologist-scientist and cardio-oncology key opinionleader (KOL) Dr Brian Jensen will lead the project. The project is expected to take 12 months with a budged cost of US$101,261.74.

14 April 2023 - Triangle research report is released, citing multi-billion dollar opportunity for CPACS w/ Anthracyclines only.

15 February 2024 - Cancer Therapies and Cardiomyocyte Viability: Which Drugs are Directly Cardiotoxic? Is published. Identified 15 additional anti-cancer agents that significantly reduced HCM viability.

In November '21 Zan was demonstrated to rescue HCM. Ergo, I think it's fair to assume that this recent publication is an extension of the RAC collaboration and that Doan et al have just identified an additional 15 CPACS targets for Zan.

This list reflects the CPACS opportunity only - FTO Synergy opportunities are excluded.

Expand

For those interested, I've updated the potential CPACS candidate list to include the drugs named in our 'WO2023087065 - METHOD OF CARDIOPROTECTION' patent application* - https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2023087065&_cid=P20-LVZPIU-67488-1

*Note that there is a broad brush inclusion of Zan in combination with any cardiotoxic therapeutic agent:

"A pharmaceutical composition comprising a cardioprotective agent comprising bisantrene or a derivative thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of bisantrene or derivative thereof, and a cardiotoxic therapeutic agent, said composition having reduced cardiotoxicity compared to a composition comprising said cardiotoxic therapeutic agent but not comprising said cardioprotective agent."

Why is this significant?

The Triangle market research report notes a global peak sales potential of ~US$5-8B in breast, gynaecologic, sarcoma and liquid tumors, when Zan is used in combination with an anthracycline (that's only 6 of the 25 drugs listed above). The CPACS TAM is greater than just the Anthracycline market.

Further, 6 months after the publication of the Triangle report, RAC announced the Oncolines work.

This work expands the ~US$5-8B Anthracycline synergy market opportunity noted in the Triangle report by an additional 10 indications.