On May 6, 2025 Genprex, Inc. ("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, reported it has entered into an exclusive patent license agreement with UTHealth Houston granting Genprex exclusivity and commercial rights relating to its lead drug candidate, Reqorsa Gene Therapy (quaratusugene ozeplasmid) for the potential treatment of glioblastoma (Press release, Genprex, MAY 6, 2025, View Source [SID1234652574]). The subject patent is co-owned by Genprex and UTHealth Houston, and the license provides Genprex with patent exclusivity.
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"We are pleased to expand our portfolio of licensed patents and add a technology that uses REQORSA to treat glioblastoma," said Thomas Gallagher, Senior Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing. "With this license agreement, Genprex has obtained exclusive commercial rights to REQORSA in glioblastoma while also adding to our patent estate. The role of TUSC2 in lung cancer has been well established, and this latest license enables Genprex to expand the use of REQORSA into a new indication, in which the cancer can be difficult to treat and there are unmet medical needs."
REQORSA may be a potential therapeutic treatment for glioblastoma.
REQORSA may be a potential therapeutic treatment for glioblastoma. Genprex previously reported positive preclinical data on the efficacy of REQORSA in glioblastoma in October 2024 at the 2024 EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. Research collaborators from UTHealth Houston previously reported TUSC2 as a novel tumor suppressor for glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest primary brain tumor in adults which is associated with a poor prognosis. In their latest study, UTHealth Houston researchers used patient-derived glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines and patient-derived glioma stem cell (PD-GSC) lines. REQORSA was used to restore TUSC2 expression.
Researchers at UTHealth Houston observed that REQORSA significantly reduced GBM cell viability, and the results of a migration assay demonstrated that REQORSA suppressed GBM cell migration independent of its ability to suppress cell viability. In conclusion, REQORSA demonstrates promising in vitro efficacy in GBM and PD-GSCs, and these results support further evaluation of its in vivo anti-tumor efficacy in malignant gliomas using mouse models.
About Reqorsa Gene Therapy
REQORSA (quaratusugene ozeplasmid) consists of a plasmid containing the TUSC2 gene encapsulated in non-viral lipid-based nanoparticles in a lipoplex form (the Company’s Oncoprex Delivery System), which has a positive charge. REQORSA is injected intravenously and specifically targets cancer cells. REQORSA is designed to deliver the functioning TUSC2 gene to negatively charged cancer cells while minimizing uptake by normal tissue. Laboratory studies conducted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center show that the uptake of TUSC2 in tumor cells in vitro after REQORSA treatment was 10 to 33 times the uptake in normal cells.