DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lantern
Pharma (NASDAQ: LTRN), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company using its proprietary RADR® artificial
intelligence ("A.I.") platform to improve drug discovery and
development, and identify patients who will benefit from its
portfolio of targeted oncology therapeutics, announced the
advancement of its collaboration with Georgetown University for LP-184, a small molecule
drug candidate currently in preclinical development for certain
genomically defined solid tumors, including prostate and pancreatic
cancers.
The first phase of the joint research activities with Georgetown
which began in the 4th quarter of 2019 generated strong evidence of
the efficacy of LP-184 in certain solid tumors and linked the
anti-tumor activity to the presence of specific biomarkers.
Phase one of the collaboration was a proof of concept study
that demonstrated LP-184 had nanomolar potency across a wide
variety of cell lines specifically engineered to study prostate
cancer. LP-184 demonstrated increased efficacy in killing
prostate cancer cells that overexpress PTGR1, a gene that is often
upregulated in aggressive cancer tumors as well as higher
anti-cancer activity in cells lines that had targeted DNA damage
repair gene mutations. LP-184 was further tested in 3D
organoid cultures, which are derived from patient tumor samples and
more closely represent the actual biology of human tumors than cell
lines, resulting in dose-dependent cell death in multiple
patient-derived xenograft (PDX) prostate cancer models.
Additional genomic, transcriptomic and drug sensitivity data from
the cell lines and 3D organoids was also obtained, which is helping
to refine the response signature, and is providing insights
into which DNA repair deficiencies are more likely to be highly
sensitive to LP-184. Since aggressive cancers can frequently over
express PTGR1, this important insight regarding the
observed efficacy of LP-184 in such tumors will be
further validated in the next phase of the collaboration.
Mr. Sharma added: "I am very excited about the results of
the first phase of our collaboration with Georgetown University as it validates that LP-184
is a highly potent agent in cancers that exhibit certain molecular
features. This fact is highly significant as it suggests
LP-184 could develop into a first-in-class compound for the
treatment of certain prostate and pancreatic cancers and
potentially other solid tumors. Moreover, LP-184 seems to
work specifically by damaging and blocking a pathway critical for
cancer cell proliferation; it could potentially be a perfect drug
for use in combination with existing therapies for these
prostate and pancreatic cancers as well as other solid tumors where
we can exploit this molecular feature. We will be working alongside
Dr. Banerjee to further elucidate this mechanism and generate a
signature that we can use for future patient selection in trials
and patient treatment."
The next phase of the collaboration and research program with
Georgetown will focus on a larger set of PDX models and help
pinpoint the specific mechanism of action, and seek confirmatory
validation of the role of PTGR1 and the genetic mutations driving
the DNA damage repair pathways that make the drug highly potent in
these cancers. Research will also focus on completing the
acquisition of detailed genomic information in prostate cancers,
which will involve work in animal models and cell lines that have
been edited to under and over express key driver genes.
Dr. Partha Banerjee, a
world-renowned expert in molecular oncology and prostate
cancer, and lead investigator for LP-184 at Georgetown University, commented: "There is
currently a lack of approved therapeutic options for
metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which
affects ~33,000 men per year in the U.S. alone. It is a
highly lethal disorder with increasing incidence in the US and a
5-year survival rate of 26%, as compared to 91% for localized
prostate disease. LP-184 has the potential to preferentially
target DNA damage repair pathway in cancer cells that express
certain biomarkers, like PTGR1. Thus, if LP-184 is able
to demonstrate efficacy in future human clinical trials
and meaningfully increase the survival rate, this would
be extremely important for patients." In addition to Dr.
Partha Banerjee, Dr. Shiv
Shrivastava, who previously served as the Co-Director of the Center
for Prostate Disease Research at Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center is also advising Lantern Pharma in the development
strategy in this precision oncology approach for LP-184.
LP 184 has been advanced using Lantern's proprietary
RADR® A.I. platform that uses machine learning,
genomics, and computational biology to accelerate the discovery of
potential mechanisms of action and genomic and biomarker signatures
that correlate to drug response in cancer patients.
The goal of phase two of the collaboration is to create a more
biologically relevant and robust gene signature in preparation for
clinical trials, with the objective of
allowing future prostate cancer patients to experience
the benefit of a more personalized cancer treatment approach.
Ultimately, Lantern's A.I. driven approach could save millions of
dollars in drug development costs while significantly accelerating
the path to commercialization.
Panna Sharma, CEO of Lantern
Pharma, said: "I am excited about the potential of LP-184,
particularly as it relates to a more targeted therapy for
patients with prostate cancer. If we can further develop this
potent compound as a novel therapeutic agent, it would constitute
an important breakthrough in the treatment of this deadly form of
prostate cancer. I look forward to our continued collaboration with
Dr. Banerjee and Georgetown
University."
About Lantern Pharma
Lantern Pharma (LTRN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company innovating the repurposing, revitalization and development
of precision therapeutics in oncology. We leverage advances in
machine learning, genomics, and artificial intelligence by using a
proprietary A.I. platform to discover biomarker signatures that
help identify patients more likely to respond to our pipeline of
cancer therapeutics. Lantern's focus is to improve the outcome for
patients by leveraging our technology to uncover, rescue and
develop abandoned or failed drugs. Our current pipeline of three
drugs, with two programs in clinical stages and two in preclinical,
focuses on cancers that have unique and unmet clinical needs with a
clearly defined patient population. We believe that the use of
machine learning, genomics and computational methods can help
accelerate the revitalization, refocusing and development of small
molecule-based therapies. By targeting drugs to patients whose
genomic profile identifies them as having the highest probability
of benefiting from the drug, this approach represents the potential
to deliver best-in-class outcomes. Our team seeks out experienced
industry partners, world-class scientific advisors, and innovative
clinical-regulatory approaches to assist in delivering cancer
therapies to patients as quickly and efficiently as
possible. For more information, please visit the company's
website at www.lanternpharma.com or follow the company
on Twitter @lanternpharma.
Contact
Marek Ciszewski, JD
Director, Investor Relations
628-777-3167
investor@lanternpharma.com
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. These forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements relating to: future events or our future
financial performance; the potential advantages of our
RADR® platform in identifying drug candidates and
patient populations that are likely to respond to a drug candidate;
our strategic plans to advance the development of our drug
candidates; estimates regarding the development timing for our drug
candidates; our strategic plans to expand the number of data points
that our RADR® platform can access and analyze; our
research and development efforts of our internal drug discovery
programs and the utilization of our RADR® platform to
streamline the drug development process; our intention to leverage
artificial intelligence, machine learning and genomic data to
streamline and transform the pace, risk and cost of oncology
drug discovery and development
and to identify patient populations that would likely respond
to a drug candidate; estimates regarding potential markets and
potential market sizes; sales estimates for our drug candidates and
our plans to discover and develop drug candidates and to maximize
their commercial potential by advancing such drug candidates
ourselves or in collaboration with others. Any statements that are
not statements of historical fact (including, without limitation,
statements to the effect that Lantern Pharma Inc. or our management
"believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "plans" (and
similar expressions) should be considered forward-looking
statements. There are a number of important factors that could
cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated
by the forward-looking statements, such as the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the results of our clinical trials, and the
impact of competition. Additional factors can be found in the Risk
Factors section in our final prospectus, dated June 10, 2020, for our initial public offering,
on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may access
our June 10, 2020 final prospectus
under the investor SEC filings tab of our website at
www.lanternpharma.com or on the SEC's website
at www.sec.gov. Given these risks and uncertainties, we can
give no assurances that our forward-looking statements will prove
to be accurate, or that any other results or events projected or
contemplated by our forward-looking statements will in fact occur,
and we caution investors not to place undue reliance on these
statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release
represent our judgment as of the date hereof, and, except as
otherwise required by law, we disclaim any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual
results or changes in our expectations.
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