SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research presented at the 4th American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) – International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) International Joint Conference: Lung Cancer Translational Science from the Bench to Clinic shows that an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor being developed by Capella Therapeutics Inc. accumulates in the brain and inhibits the growth of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
"When tested in several orthotopic brain models in mouse utilizing IVIS technology, compound LL-067 significantly reduced the size of the brain tumor within one week of treatment." said Nicholas Cacalano, M.D., University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Cacalano is scheduled to present information about the research at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, during the conference at the Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego. Capella Therapeutics also presented a poster about the research at the conference. The research, funded by Capella Therapeutics Inc., was conducted at University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center and UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine.
"This research shows that LL-067, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, can cross the blood-brain barrier and kill the non-small cell lung cancer in the brain," said Yun Long, Ph.D., Capella Therapeutics' founder. "There is a large, unmet medical need for treatment of patients whose lung cancer has metastasized into the brain. Very few compounds can gain brain access and there is no approved targeted therapy to treat EGFR-driven brain metastasis. We could potentially monopolize the treatment in this field," Long said. The company plans to initiate clinical testing in 2016.
Lung cancer is the most deadly form of cancer in the United States and was projected to cause 158,040 deaths in 2015, or 27 percent of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer kills more people each year than colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, or an estimated 85 percent of all diagnosed lung cancers. As many as 50 percent of NSCLC patients develop brain metastasis. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of NSCLC is due to malfunctioning of EGFR.
About Capella Therapeutics Inc.
Founded in 2014 in San Diego, Capella Therapeutics is focused on the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Capella Therapeutics was founded by Yun Long, Ph.D., a successful medicinal chemist with biotech experiences at Ligand, Galapagos/Biofocus, Nitto Denko Technology, GNF, Vertex, and Well Spring Biosciences. Dr. Long encouraged Alan Lewis, Ph.D., David Anderson, Ph.D. and Tony Hunter Ph.D. to join him to further develop the company. Members of this team have successfully developed numerous oncology and anti-inflammatory drugs from concept to market. They all previously worked closely together at Signal Pharmaceuticals and the Signal Division of Celgene.
Capella Therapeutics Inc. is located in the Janssen Lab Incubator at 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121
SOURCE Capella Therapeutics Inc.