Publication by VBL Therapeutics Highlights MOSPD2 as a Potential New Target for Breast Cancer Therapy

On July 10, 2018 VBL Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VBLT) reported the publication of data on the potential role of MOSPD2 in metastatic breast cancer in the International Journal of Cancer (Press release, VBL Therapeutics, JUL 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234527633]).

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!

VBL’s data demonstrate for the first time that MOSPD2 can play a major role in breast cancer cell migration and metastasis, and that targeting MOSPD2 may be employed to prevent the spreading of breast cancer cells. Histological analysis of specimens shows that MOSPD2 levels were correlated with the stage of tumor invasiveness, and were profoundly elevated in invasive and metastatic breast cancer, making it an attractive target for potential treatment of late-stage breast cancer.

"Our research has previously shown that MOSPD2 plays a key role in the regulation of cell motility in the immune system. The current publication further demonstrates that it also plays an important role in cancer cell metastasis, and that knock-out of MOSPD2 in tumor cells may reduce metastasis by up to 95% in certain models," said Itzhak Mendel, Ph.D., Immunology Director of VBL Therapeutics and co-author of the paper. "We continue to advance our exciting VB-600 series of antibodies targeting MOSPD2 for oncology and inflammatory indications."

At the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) conference in April this year, VBL presented a late-breaking proof-of-concept study demonstrating antibody-mediated killing of MOSPD2-expressing cancer cells. VBL research has also shown that knocking-out the MOSPD2 gene in mice could protect the animals from developing some inflammatory diseases. The Company has generated antibodies that block immune cell migration and show efficacy in a model of multiple sclerosis.

VBL is developing the VB-600 platform of biologic drug candidates for oncology and inflammatory indications. The Company plans to file an IND in this program by year-end 2019.