Guilford-based AI Therapeutics, a drug company founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, announced Monday it had acquired a new cancer drug candidate from Spain’s EntreChem, S.L.
The new candidate, EC-8042 (now AIT-102), is in development as a treatment for rare pediatric and other cancers.
AIT-102 targets the mutations responsible for the formation and progression of rhabdoid tumors and Ewing sarcoma, two cancers found in children. The drug also has the potential to treat a broader family of tumors that share a common mechanism of altered SWI/SNF activity, or mutated or dysregulated proteins involved in DNA expression.
The drug shows “strong preclinical data” as a less toxic and more effective treatment for rhabdoid tumors and Ewing sarcoma, said Dr. Patrick Grohar, director of Translational Research with the Center of Childhood Cancer Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in a statement.
“I believe that AIT-102 has the potential to transform the treatment of these cancers, as well as many others,” Grohar said.
AI Therapeutics CEO Dr. Brigette Roberts said, “AIT-102 is a powerful addition to AI Therapeutics’ rare disease treatment pipeline.”
Roberts said that AIT-102 has the potential to treat up to 20% of cancers with altered SWI/SNF activity, including epithelioid sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, lung adenocarcinoma, colorectal cancer and others.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring forward a promising new agent to help fight these tumors,” Roberts said.
Named CEO of AI Therapeutics in February, Roberts has helped raise more than $28 million in private investment capital to advance the company’s product pipeline.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
