Cellceutix Corporation, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering small molecule drugs to treat unmet medical conditions, including drug-resistant cancers and autoimmune diseases, has signed a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre (MD Anderson). As per the MTA, Cellceutix will provide MD Anderson with Kevetrin, the company’s novel anti-cancer drug candidate, for laboratory research of Kevetrin as a potential new treatment for lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

MD Anderson intends to utilise in vivo and in vitro methods to research specific pathways, gene expression, mechanism of action and apoptotic activity of Kevetrin in a range of concentrations and time points in both mutant and wild-type p53 myeloma and lymphoma cell lines. Research is also planned to evaluate Kevetrin against models of Multiple Myeloma cell lines that are resistant to bortezomib, lenalidomide and other FDA-approved chemotherapies. Additional studies will be conducted evaluating the anti-tumour activity of Kevetrin when used as a combination therapy with several FDA-approved drugs. MD Anderson will provide funding for these studies of Kevetrin defined by the MTA.

“This is another significant development in our advancement of Kevetrin. We are thrilled by the collaboration and MD Anderson’s interest in researching Kevetrin as a potential new drug for Multiple Myeloma and Lymphoma,” said Leo Ehrlich, chief executive officer at Cellceutix.  “Currently moving through clinical trials for solid tumors at Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Centre, Kevetrin being evaluated for blood cancers at MD Anderson puts our novel drug in the hands of innovative and experienced scientists at two of the most prestigious cancer research centers in the world, bar none. MD Anderson has defined a robust course of study that will provide invaluable insight to the anti-tumour activity of Kevetrin that will be used to plan for additional clinical trials as we continue to execute our strategy to aim Kevetrin at a broad spectrum of cancer lines.”

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre focussed on to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programmes that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.

Myeloma is a type of cancer that begins in plasma cells (white blood cells that produce antibodies).  It is also called Kahler disease, multiple myeloma, myelomatosis, and plasma cell myeloma.

As a completely new class of chemistry in medicine, Kevetrin has significant potential to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of solid tumors. Mechanism of action studies showed Kevetrin’s unique ability to affect both wild and mutant types of p53 (often referred to as the “Guardian Angel Gene” or the “Guardian Angel of the Human Genome”) and that Kevetrin strongly induced apoptosis (cell death), characterized by activation of Caspase 3 and cleavage of PARP. Activation of p53 also induced apoptosis by inducing the expression of p53 target gene PUMA. p53 is an important tumor suppressor that acts to restrict proliferation by inducing cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis, or cellular senescence.

In more than 50 per cent of all human carcinomas, p53 is limited in its anti-tumour activities by mutations in the protein itself. Currently, there are greater than 10 million people with tumors that contain inactivated p53, while a similar number have tumors in which the p53 pathway is partially abrogated by inactivation of other signaling components. This has left cancer researchers with the grand challenge of searching for therapies that could restore the protein’s protective function, which Kevetrin appears to be doing the majority of the time.