On April 29, 2025 Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: RKV) (FSE: 7JO), a biopharmaceutical company advancing next-generation cancer therapies through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery, reported the presentation of new preclinical data from two of its lead programs at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025 (Press release, Rakovina Therapeutics, APR 29, 2025, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rakovina-therapeutics-showcases-preclinical-results-of-novel-ai-discovered-cancer-therapies-at-aacr-2025 [SID1234652322]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
The first presentation highlighted Rakovina’s PARP1-selective inhibitor program. Using the proprietary Deep Docking and generative platforms , Rakovina previously screened more than four billion potential drug-like molecules to identify a shortlist of top candidates. These compounds were synthesized and evaluated in Rakovina’s laboratory facilities at the University of British Columbia.
Data presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) demonstrated a new class of PARP1 inhibitors with significantly improved metabolic stability, including the lowest in vitro clearance rates and the longest half-life compared to other candidates currently in development. Early animal studies revealed strong plasma exposure and a promising pharmacokinetic profile suggestive of central nervous system (CNS) penetration — a potentially significant advantage in treating brain-involved malignancies.
The second presentation showcased progress from Rakovina’s ATR-specific inhibitor program, developed in partnership with Variational AI. Researchers identified a focused set of lead candidates predicted to be highly potent and selective against ATR, a key DNA damage response target. These candidates are also designed with the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier, an important feature for addressing cancers affecting the CNS. The top candidates are currently being synthesized for laboratory validation.
"Our ability to screen billions of molecules and advance top candidates to in vitro and in vivo validation within months — rather than years — exemplifies the transformative power of AI in drug discovery," said Jeffrey Bacha, Executive Chairman of Rakovina Therapeutics. "This acceleration gives us the opportunity to significantly reduce the time and cost required to bring new life-saving cancer treatments to patients."
The results presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) reinforce the robustness of Rakovina’s AI-enabled discovery platform. Moving forward, Rakovina will leverage these findings to further refine and train its AI models, with the goal of advancing best-in-class lead candidates for both the PARP1 and ATR programs into clinical development. The Company intends to collaborate with pharmaceutical partners to accelerate the path to the clinic and deliver novel therapies to patients in need.