After evaluating fewer than twenty of the compounds in the library, Plantacor has selected compounds for advanced studies and preclinical development. Each of the selected compounds is formulated in a stable delivery system designed by Plantacor, and supported by in-house bio-analytical methods developed to successfully identify and measure the selected compound during preclinical testing.
In early invivo testing excellent anti-cancer activity was demonstrated in five Colon cancer sub-types, four Breast cancer sub-types, two Bladder and Renal cancer sub-types and one each of Prostate, Endometrial and Pancreatic cancer sub-types. From these results, the target indication selected for our first drug candidate is “Basal-like” Breast cancer also known as “triple negative” Breast cancer. This subtype accounts for 30K – 50K new breast cancer cases each year and is very aggressive, primarily affecting premenopausal women. Mortality rates are extremely high, and there are currently no targeted therapeutics approved for this disease.
In addition, work with one of our compounds in combination with an existing cancer drug has validated the prospect that combination therapies likely represent additional market and partnering opportunities for our compounds.
To address the delivery of our compounds, we have established a “technology platform” for delivery of difficult to solubilize small molecule compounds. These formulations include oral, intraperitoneal (for testing in animals) and other parenteral administration modalities and we have confirmed that our compounds have 3-5 fold less toxicity compared to conventional anticancer drugs.
As a test of adaptability for our formulation science, we demonstrated increased delivery of a generic compound in blood plasma at 30-fold concentration levels over previously reported studies. We are confident that this formulation platform will be a valuable asset to Plantacor in future development efforts.