Chemokine Therapeutics Corp., a biotechnology company developing drugs in the field of chemokines and cytokines, has been granted US Patent No. 6,875,738 relating to the use of its anti-cancer compound, CTCE-9908, in the treatment of cancer and inhibition of angiogenesis. CTCE-9908 is designed to block CXCR4, a receptor found on the surface of cancer cells. CTCE-9908 inhibits the growth and spread of certain common cancers, with the potential for use with existing therapies (chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation) to improve treatment outcomes.
The patent entitled "Therapeutic Chemokine Receptor Antagonists", with a term lasting to August 2019, covers some of the methods by which CTCE-9908 treats cancer. It strengthens the company's growing proprietary position in peptide-based therapies which seek to address unmet medical needs in cancer, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, a release said.
"With the issue of our most recent patent, we are expanding our proprietary position in peptide-based drug development, a burgeoning new pharmaceutical drug class with great potential to treat a number of diseases and disorders," said Dr Hassan Salari, president and CEO of Chemokine Therapeutics. "I believe we are among the first companies to develop synthetic chemokines that have been shown to be functional in living systems and safe in our initial studies in humans."
Chemokines are a new class of cytokines, a group of small, soluble proteins, known as chemoattractant proteins, which signal biological responses that play a critical role in the immune system. Many of these biological signals are necessary for fighting infection, as well as tissue repair and regeneration. However, chemokines are also known to play an important role in cancer and autoimmune disorders which can paradoxically contribute to the survival and growth of abnormal cells that cause disease.
Key Patent Claim: Inhibition of blood vessel growth to tumours by novel blockade CTCE-9908 represents an exciting new generation of drugs being developed that promise more targeted therapies to treat the underlying cancer while keeping healthy cells intact. The patent claims methods of treating cancer and inhibiting angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) by administration of an antagonist that blocks a chemokine receptor known as CXCR4.
Leading cancer researchers have demonstrated that high CXCR4 expression in cancer cells is correlated to tumour progression, high metastasis rate and low survival rate. Blockage of CXCR4 reduces the growth of tumours by reducing blood vessel growth (anti-angiogenesis) which carries vital nutrients to a tumour. The company has completed a Phase I, dose-escalation clinical trial using CTCE-9908 in the United Kingdom to assess its safety in healthy volunteers in which there were no serious adverse events noted in any subject during the study.