Curie-Cancer and Harmonic Pharma sign a partnership agreement for exploring the anti-cancer activity of several compounds

13-Nov-2012 - France

Curie-cancer, the body responsible for developing Institut Curie’s industry partnership activities and Harmonic Pharma, which is developing solutions for extending the therapeutic application of compounds already on the market, announced that they have entered into a research collaboration aimed at exploring the anti-cancer activity of several molecules in Harmonic Pharma’s portfolio.

Harmonic Pharma’s main focus is on identifying new therapeutic uses for compounds that are already on the market or at an advanced stage of development, using an approach known as molecular repositioning. Since these compounds have already proven to be well tolerated in humans, Harmonic Pharma’s repositioning activities bring considerable gains in terms of time and resources.

The targeted biological receptor, already known for its role in facilitating the entry of the HIV virus into lymphocytes, is also involved in three of the most important stages of the development of cancer: tumor proliferation, the migration of tumor cells to other tissues and the invasion of these other tissues, which results in the formation of distant metastases (in the bone, the lungs, the brain and other areas).

To validate the initial observations made in in vitro cellular models, Curie-Cancer gave Harmonic Pharma access to animal models that are highly representative of cancer in humans, as well as to the know-how of its researchers with a deep understanding of metastatic processes. Institut Curie’s extensive collection of mice xenografted with tumors taken from human patients on the operating table, which are therefore representative of the tumors seen in man, is proving an especially valuable tool for therapeutic development.

Depending on the results, Curie-Cancer may take over some of the molecules being studied and put them through clinical trials.

This research agreement involves both applied research in the development of products that could be rapidly commercialized and fundamental research that will help improve understanding of the receptor’s role in breast, lung and eye cancers. This collaboration is expected to run for several years and the costs will be shared.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/140447/curie-cancer-and-harmonic-pharma-sign-a-partnership-agreement-for-exploring-the-anti-cancer-activity-of-several-compounds.html