socking it to cancer, page-2

I have re-read the Directors Report for 30 June 2014 in light of the discussions around Sox18 and the Targeting the Undruggable project. I think the project has legs - real legs - given the interested onlookers.

I initially assumed that Janssen were primarily interested in re-engaging the collaboration to pick up where they left off re: the FPPs which were validated to deliver the Janssen cargo into cells. That may only be partially true. The Directors Report actually states that Janssen are 'particularly' interested in the 'new Oncology Program'.

So what is the new Oncology Program?

"The initial stages of Phylogica's Oncology Program will investigate the capacity of peptides in the company's Phylomer libraries to inhibit the activity of transcription factors - the critical proteins that bind DNA and regulate how genes express themselves in cells."

Sox18 is a transcription factor, one which acts as a 'master regulator controlling the spread of cancer throughout the body'. My revised conclusion is that Janssen are particularly interested in the research around Sox18.

"Tumours only grow and spread if they can form a blood supply, and Sox18 is a key regulator of blood vessel formation," excerpt from IMB News 2006.

Control of the growth of the tumour and secondary spread of the tumour through the bloodstream and lymphatic system could be classified as 'high-value cancer targets' as outlined in the Directors Report.

"While the initiative will initially focus upon breast cancer, the targets chosen are also relevant to other common malignancies, including colon, lung and pancreatic cancers."

A quick search reveals that metastasis is common is breast, colon, lung and pancreatic cancers. A successful project outcome would mean that a single cancer drug could control the size and spread of a range of cancers without broad side-effects.

Further, I also suspect that the IMB/Phylogica collaboration may have already made significant progress. Remember, the team from IMB have been working on Sox18 for a decade. The initial collaboration between IMB/Phylogica forged last year may have already laid out a compelling foundation for the new work.

"Our existing collaborations with Dr Gambin and Professor Kirill Alexandrov's labs at IMB around this protein-protein interactions screening platform are already yielding exciting results," said Dr Paul Watt, 2 September 2014.

The work on ADC's is important, the work on Sox18, however, may be transformative in the war on cancer.