ANN ARBOR, Mich. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Penrose TherapeuTx, a pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative small-molecule therapies for the treatment of advanced cancers, today announced that Navdeep Chandel, Ph.D. has joined the company’s scientific advisory board. Dr. Chandel has more than 20 years of experience in mitochondrial research and has contributed to significant breakthroughs in mitochondrial science, including understanding its role in cancer cells. He joins Penrose as the company is positioned to begin rapidly advancing its novel Mitochondrial Modifying Agent (MMA) research program.
Penrose TherapeuTx, through unprecedented tissue-driven pharmacologic insights, has pioneered a next-generation class of MMAs which create a selective mitochondrial vulnerability that ultimately leads to cancer cell metabolic collapse. The platform has shown promising preclinical results and the company has developed a lead candidate, RP-0320, which is set to advance into clinical research in the coming year.
“Dr. Chandel has long been on the forefront of mitochondrial research and the role they play in cancer cells, which is extremely relevant to our cutting-edge MMA platform developed to tackle complex cancers,” said Mark de Souza, Chief Executive Officer at Penrose TherapeuTx. “We will continue building our scientific leadership team and Dr. Chandel’s deep domain knowledge will undoubtedly help our veteran research team more rapidly advance our science and pipeline.”
Dr. Chandel’s work established that mitochondrial metabolism and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are necessary for tumorigenesis in vivo which led to the current understanding that both aerobic glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism are essential for tumor growth. Recently, Dr. Chandel and his team published findings in Nature that showed the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is necessary for tumor growth and its inhibition has demonstrated anti-tumor efficacy in combination with targeted therapies.
“The Penrose clinical research platform of targeting mitochondria in cancer cells is not just novel but unprecedented, with very promising preclinical results to support the advancement of the pipeline,” said Dr. Navdeep Chandel. “I look forward to advising Penrose as the company enters this next stage of research.”
Dr. Chandel is the David W. Cugell, M.D. Professor of Medicine Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine where he also founded the Chandel Laboratory. Dr. Chandel graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. in mathematics and Ph.D. in Cell Physiology.
About Penrose TherapeuTx
Penrose TherapeuTx is a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative small-molecule therapies for the treatment of advanced cancers. Penrose has pioneered the development of a novel Mitochondrial Modifying Agent (MMA) therapeutic platform designed to generate therapies for difficult to treat cancers through a unique cooperative mechanism of action. Our approach has potential broad applicability across both hematologic and solid tumors. Learn more at https://penrosetherapeutx.com.
