Cancer is a leading cause of death, responsible for ~10 million deaths each year. While personalized medicine and immunotherapy have improved outcomes for some patients, their use remains limited, resistance is common, and many treatments are toxic.
A major cancer driver is MYC, a non-redundant transcription factor essential for tumour growth and survival. MYC is dysregulated in ~70% of cancers and linked to poor prognosis and therapy resistance. Despite strong interest, no MYC inhibitor is currently available because MYC lacks a well-defined structure and is located in the nucleus, making it difficult to drug.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the deadliest cancers, with <10% five-year survival. In PDAC, MYC promotes fibrosis and immune suppression, limiting drug access and immune recognition, and current therapies remain largely ineffective chemotherapies.
Peptomyc is developing MYC-targeting drugs. OMO-103 is a patented, first-in-class cell-penetrating mini-protein based on Omomyc, designed to overcome the challenges of inhibiting MYC and potentially synergize with personalized therapies across MYC-driven cancers.
OMO-103 has completed a first-in-human trial in advanced solid tumours, showing excellent safety, dose-dependent target engagement, and clinical activity, including a 49% tumour reduction and >6 months disease stabilization in a metastatic PDAC patient. Predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarker signatures were also identified.
Peptomyc aims to secure a licensing agreement for OMO-103 with a pharmaceutical partner to complete development and commercialization. The next step is a Phase 1b trial in first-line PDAC combining OMO-103 with standard of care, alongside development of a commercial-ready manufacturing process within the MYCureX project.
With positive MYCureX results, Peptomyc could reach a licensing deal by 2026, enabling revenue generation and reinvestment into early pipeline assets, while helping position the EU as a leader in tackling high-value “undruggable” targets.
