Project description
Inhibition of MYC in pancreatic cancer
MYC is an oncogene playing a pivotal role in cancer progression, particularly in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where it remains a challenging therapeutic target. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the MYCureX project aims to address the limited options for this highly lethal cancer by targeting MYC. The project pioneers a breakthrough with OMO-103, a first-in-class MYC inhibitor which has successfully completed a Phase 1 trial, demonstrated significant efficacy in PDAC patients. Supported by AI-generated companion diagnostic tests, the MYCureX project aims to advance the inhibitor to a Phase 1b trial, combining it with standard care, refining diagnostics, ensuring scalable manufacturing, and broadening applications. The vision is to solidify the therapeutic potential of MYC inhibition, offering a promising solution for PDAC.
Objective
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers, with very few and often ineffective therapeutic options. Despite recent advances, cancer therapies remain ineffective and/or highly toxic. Our approach is targeting MYC, a function essential to cancer cells that allows them to survive and develop resistance to therapy. In contrast to standard drugs, inhibiting MYC selectively blocks tumor progression without causing important side effects. MYC has been considered undruggable for a long time, and no clinical MYC inhibitor is yet marketed. Peptomyc’s first-in-class drug, OMO-103, is a cell-penetrating mini-protein that derives from Omomyc, the best MYC inhibitor known to date. OMO-103 recently completed a Phase 1 clinical trial that confirmed its safety and clinical activity in all-comers solid tumor patients, causing a 49% tumor shrinkage in a PDAC patient and stabilizing the disease of 8 out of 12 evaluable patients. Moreover, using AI we identified a predictive and a pharmacodynamic circulating biomarker signatures, and generated companion diagnostic for stratification and real-time response monitoring tests for OMO-103. OMO-103 and its companion diagnostic tests offer a promising therapeutic option for a disease in great need and could apply to treat many other cancer indications. The next steps and goals of this MYCureX project consist of conducting a Phase 1b trial in 1st-line PDAC patients, combining OMO-103 with the standard of care, to evaluate its safety and clinical activity; refining the companion diagnostic prototypes and app; securing the scale-up of the innovation by developing a commercial-scale compatible manufacturing process; and expand the applications of OMO-103 and Peptomyc's drug pipeline. By completing MYCureX, Peptomyc will consolidate the therapeutic potential of MYC inhibition in cancer patients, improving their survival and quality of life while establishing itself as a European leader biotech in MYC targeting.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC-ACC-BF - HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended FinanceCoordinator
08035 BARCELONA
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.