On June 10, 2021 Onchilles Pharma reported a $7 Million Series A financing from LYZZ Capital and includes a $500,000 investment from the University of Chicago’s Startup Investment Fund (Press release, Onchilles Pharma, JUN 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234583859]). The proceeds of the financing will be used to develop first-in-class therapeutics to activate a novel pathway of the innate immune system with potential for universal anti-cancer activity, independent of genetic mutation. Research published in today’s issue of Cell is the first to describe this pathway where human neutrophils release catalytically active neutrophil elastase, called ELANE, to selectively kill many cancer cell types while sparing non-cancer cells.
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"The ELANE pathway is an entirely new treatment paradigm with the potential to have broad and selective cancer killing activity regardless of genetic mutation or anatomical origin," said Lev Becker, Ph.D., principal investigator on the publication, Scientific Founder and Board Member of Onchilles Pharma, and Associate Professor of Ben May Department of Cancer Research at UChicago. "We found that ELANE initiates a complex killing mechanism that culminates in cancer cell apoptosis at the initial tumor site as well as increases adaptive immunity that attacks distant metastases. We believe ELANE is the beginning of a highly conserved neutrophil pathway that is the immune system’s first response to aberrant cells and could be cancer’s Achilles’ heel."
Data from today’s published research shows ELANE selectively kills cancer cells by proteolytically liberating the CD95 death domain, which interacts with histone H1. ELANE starts a complex cancer killing program that suppresses cell survival pathways, induces DNA damage, elevates mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, and ultimately activates apoptosis effectors. ELANE consistently activated this program in 35 different cancer cell lines but not in any non-cancer cells tested. In animal models, ELANE attenuates primary tumor growth and produces a CD8+T-cell-mediated abscopal effect to attack distant metastases.
"As part of innate immunity, neutrophils have broad efficacy and specificity to eliminate genetically diverse cellular threats, and ELANE is the major anti-cancer protein in the neutrophil arsenal," said Court R. Turner, Cofounder and Executive Chairperson of Onchilles Pharma and Partner at LYZZ Capital. "Our initial in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies of our first drug candidate to activate this pathway show direct and selective anti-cancer efficacy, an encouraging safety profile, and a lack of resistance with repeated exposure. This financing will support proof-of-concept preclinical studies as well as exploration of this novel pathway for additional drug targets."
The research entitled, "Neutrophil elastase selectively kills cancer cells and attenuates tumorigenesis," was published in the June 10, 2021 issue of Cell and is available at this link: View Source
Onchilles holds an exclusive license to the intellectual property generated from this research from the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation manages the licensed intellectual property and negotiated the exclusive license with Onchilles Pharma.