EGGENSTEIN-LEOPOLDSHAFEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--amcure, a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class cancer therapeutics, today presented in vivo and in vitro data on its lead development candidate, AMC303, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2017 in Washington DC. The poster presentation highlighted AMC303’s unique and novel mode of action which inhibits CD44v6 and thus, signals three cancer relevant Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs), c-MET, RON and VEGFR-2. AMC303 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/Ib clinical study as a monotherapy in patients with advanced metastatic malignant solid tumors of epithelial origin, for example pancreatic, head and neck, colorectal, gastric and lung cancer.
“So far the data generated with AMC303 indicate that it combines a strong anti-tumor and anti-metastatic effect,” said Klaus Dembowsky, CEO of amcure. “These encouraging results solidify our belief in AMC303’s potential as a novel solid tumor treatment option and bode well for the ongoing Phase I study results.”
In the study, researchers elucidated the unique mechanism of action of AMC303, a CD44v6 inhibitor, demonstrating the specific inhibition of three key RTKs (c-MET, RON and
VEGFR-2) in vitro that play a significant role in tumor growth and metastasis formation. Furthermore, in a pancreatic tumor mouse model, a three-week treatment with AMC303 resulted in a clear inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis formation as well as a marked reduction of preformed metastases. Overall, this data confirms AMC303’s potential as a novel mechanism for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors that have already formed metastases.
The poster, “Allosteric inhibition of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinases c-MET, RON and
VEGFR-2 via the co-receptor CD44v6 by the novel compound AMC303” presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2017 is available on the Company’s website under “Research and Development” or by accessing the following link: http://amcure.com/?page_id=34
About AMC303
amcure’s lead compound, AMC303, is being developed as a potential treatment for patients with advanced and metastatic epithelial tumors, e.g. pancreatic cancer, head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. AMC303 has a high specificity for inhibiting CD44v6, a co-receptor required for signaling through multiple cellular pathways (c-Met, VEGFR-2, RON) involved in tumor growth, angiogenesis and the development and regression of metastases. AMC303 has demonstrated strong effects in various in vitro and in vivo assays.
About amcure
amcure GmbH is a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology established in 2012. The company develops peptide-based compounds for the treatment of highly metastatic forms of cancer. amcure’s most advanced development candidate, AMC303, has entered clinical development and has demonstrated in in vivo proof-of-concept studies a high efficacy against different types of epithelial cancers. amcure is sponsored by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
