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The move marks significant extra investment in a potential treatment which will use these peptides to target cancer cells with RNAi or drug-loaded nanoparticles.
This deal will further the development of scientific work carried out by Cancer Research UK and DebRA - a charity which works on behalf of people in the UK with the genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Researchers developed short peptides that bind strongly to the protein called integrin avb6*, a cell-surface protein that is over expressed in a wide range of cancers but is not present at high levels in normal healthy tissue. The strong presence of integrin avb6 has been shown to be an indicator of a more aggressive tumours and poorer prognosis for cancer patients in breast cancer and in other tumours.
Dr John Marshall from Queen Mary, University of London - who will lead the study on these peptides said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Aura Biosciences to develop this technology. We believe it has great potential to target and deliver a therapy to many tumours which over-expresses integrin avb6. This is supported by a wide body of literature showing that integrin avb6 is expressed at high levels in many different cancer types, including some of the cancers which currently have limited treatment options available for them such as pancreatic and head and neck cancer.”
The terms of this deal will allow for the scientists at Queen Mary to continue to develop the peptides through a new research evaluation programme, sponsored by and run in collaboration with Aura Biosciences.
Under the terms of the agreement, Aura Biosciences will make payments to CRT in exchange for an option to take an exclusive worldwide licence on the peptides for certain applications - on pre-agreed financial terms which include an upfront fee, development milestones and royalties on future sales. Aura Biosciences will fund and oversee the next stage of the evaluation work. CRT will retain rights to the peptides in all other fields of use.
Dr Elisabet de los Pinos, chief executive officer of Aura Biosciences said: “We are very pleased to be progressing this research as we believe the peptides have exciting potential in combination with our proprietary nanoparticle technology already developed. We hope this collaboration will help us provide a unique way to target our nanoparticles to tumour sites more specifically.”
Dr Phil L’Huillier, CRT’s director of business management said:“This deal will enable the development of technology which we hope will one day allow doctors to use these peptides to deliver drug-loaded particles directly to the tumour, reducing the side effects often associated with standard therapies and improving how well they work.”
Notes to Editors
* Integrins are a large family of different proteins found on the surface of almost all cells in the body. In addition to helping cells stick to the matrix around them like Velcro, they also help cells to move and invade surrounding tissue.
About Aura Biosciences, Inc.
Aura Biosciences is an oncology focused drug development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Aura Biosciences focuses on the development of a new generation of targeted drugs for the treatment of cancer. NanosmartTM is a cutting edge nanotechnology platform based on protein nanoparticles that enable the selective delivery of drugs and RNAi to cells maximizing efficacy and reducing side effects. Further information about Aura Biosciences can be found at www.aurabiosciences.com.
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is one of the UK's leading research-focused higher education institutions with some 15,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Amongst the largest of the colleges of the University of London, Queen Mary’s 3,000 staff deliver world class degree programmes and research across 20 academic departments and institutes, within three sectors: Science and Engineering; Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws; and the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Over 80 per cent of Queen Mary’s research staff work in departments where research is of international or national excellence (RAE 2001).
The College has a strong international reputation, with around 20 per cent of students coming from over 100 countries. Queen Mary has an annual turnover of £220 million, research income worth £43 million, and generates employment and output worth over £600 million to the UK economy each year.
Queen Mary, as a member of the 1994 Group of research-focused universities, has made a strategic commitment to the highest quality of research, but also to the best possible educational, cultural and social experience for its students. The College is unique amongst London's universities in being able to offer a completely integrated residential campus, with a 2,000-bed award-winning Student Village on its Mile End campus.
About DebRA
DebRA is the medical research charity and patient support group working on behalf of people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin condition in which the skin and mucosal linings of the body blister at the slightest trauma. In some types of EB there is a high incidence of squamous cell carcinoma resulting in death in early adulthood, hence the charity’s research interest in this field. In addition to funding medical research into EB, the charity provides specialist nursing and social care services. For more information on DebRA’s work, please call 01344 771961 or visit www.debra.org.uk.
