WPD Pharmaceuticals Inc. Provides Update on the Completed Acquisition of Exclusive Sublicenses for Two Drug Candidates from Moleculin Biotech Inc
January 01, 2020 at 02:54 am IST
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WPD Pharmaceuticals Inc. provided this update on the completed acquisition of exclusive sublicenses for two drug candidates from Moleculin Biotech Inc. The territory covered by the patents includes 30 countries in Europe and Asia, including Russia. The licensed drug candidates, WP1122 and WP1732, are both considered promising potential therapies for treating pancreatic cancer, among other highly resistant tumors. WP1732 appears capable of a disproportionately high accumulation in the pancreas, making it a promising candidate for treating pancreatic cancer. WP1122 is capable of inhibiting glycolysis, a process by which cells convert glucose into energy and one on which many tumor cells are known to be much more dependent for their survival than normal cells. In particular, pancreatic cancer is known to be highly dependent on glycolysis. The incidence of and number of deaths caused by pancreatic cancer have been gradually rising, even as the incidence and mortality of other common cancers have been declining. Removal of the pancreatic cancer tumor is currently the only chance of cure. Unfortunately, 80% to 85% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are at an advanced stage and the tumor has overtaken the pancreas and even surrounding tissues. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer responds poorly to most chemotherapeutic agents.
Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. The Company has a pipeline of clinical programs for the treatment of tumors and viruses. It has three core technologies and six drug candidates, three of which have shown human activity in clinical trials. Its core technologies consist of Annamycin, WP1066 Portfolio and WP1122 Portfolio. Annamycin is designed to avoid multidrug resistance mechanisms and cardiotoxicity. Its WP1066, is an Immune/Transcription Modulator capable of inhibiting p-STAT3 and other oncogenic transcription factors while also stimulating a natural immune response, targeting brain tumors, pancreatic and other cancers, and WP1220, an analog to WP1066, for the topical treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Its portfolio includes WP1193, and WP1220. Its WP1122 contains compounds including WP1096, and WP1097, which is designed to exploit the potential uses of inhibitors of glycolysis such as 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).