Therapy for EGFR-mutant lung cancer

This technology identifies and targets a pathway for reducing brain metastasis in lung cancers with mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Unmet Need: Treatment for EGFR-mutant lung cancer that can prevent brain metastasis

Current methods to treat lung cancer use Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs). However, some cancer cells can become resistant to TKIs, while others can evade TKIs, resulting in brain metastases. Although new generation drugs like osimertinib can cross the blood-brain barrier and should be able to target brain metastases, many patients still suffer from osimertinib-refractory relapse, where metastases proliferate until fatal. There are currently no effective treatment methods that target brain metastases in EGFR-resistant lung cancer.

The Technology: Treatment for suppressing brain metastasis relapse in EGFR-mutant lung cancer

This technology targets a specific intracellular protein that drives brain metastasis relapse in EGFR-mutated lung cancer through the retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway. The pathway is targeted using pan-RA receptor antagonists to target and suppress cells that express high levels of this specific protein. This technology can be used to improve the effectiveness of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in treating EGFR-mutated lung cancer, and can especially improve prognosis in patients with higher levels of this protein, who may be more susceptible to brain metastatic relapse.

This technology has been validated in mouse models of EGFR-mutated lung cancer.

Applications:

• Treatment for brain metastatic relapse in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated lung cancer
• Treatment of cancer patients with osimertinib resistance
• Diagnostic assay for susceptibility to brain metastatic relapse
• Diagnostic assay for osimertinib resistance

Advantages:

• Prevents brain metastatic relapse
• Improves prognosis of EGFR-mutated lung cancers
• Can be used in combination with current methods of treatment like Osimertinib
• Improves effectiveness of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)

Lead Inventor:

Swarnali Acharyya, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/ 2023/141659)

Related Publications:

• Biswas AK, Han S, Tai Y, Ma W, Coker C, Quinn SA, Shakri AR, Zhong TJ, Scholze H, Lagos GG, Mela A, Manova-Todorova K, de Stanchina E, Ferrando AA, Mendelsohn C, Canoll P, Yu HA, Paik PK, Saqi A, Shu CA, Kris MG, Massague J, Acharyya S. “Targeting S100A9-ALDH1A1-Retinoic Acid Signaling to Suppress Brain Relapse in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer” Cancer Discov. 2022 Apr 1;12(4): 1002-1021

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU22193

• Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman