PULSALYS and TheraPPI Bioscience SAS enter into an exclusive and global license agreement to develop drugs targeting a novel Ras-MAPK pathway protein interaction.
August 27, 2024 – Lyon, France
TheraPPI Bioscience SAS (“TheraPPI”), a preclinical biotechnology company focused on developing small molecules that modify protein interactions, announced today the publication of extensive preclinical research in Nature Communications on small molecules that disrupt the ERK/MyD88 interaction. These scientific findings stem from the work of scientists led by Isabelle Coste and Toufic Renno at the Lyon Cancer Research Center (CRCL), in collaboration with Stéphane Giraud at the Center for Drug Discovery and Development (CRCL, Synergy Lyon Cancer Foundation).
“The publication of these results in Nature Communications provides crucial external validation from experts in ERK biology and the cancer field, enhancing visibility within the scientific community” commented Toufic Renno, Ph.D, team leader at the CRCL and CSO at TheraPPI. “Disrupting the ERK/MyD88 interaction directly kills cancer cells, as shown in multiple cancer models in mouse and patient-derived cells, while also triggering an anti-tumor immune response. Achieving this combined effect through a small molecule targeting RAS-MAPK pathway is a highly innovative breakthrough. This powerful discovery has the potential to significantly improve therapies for patients with advanced cancers.”
“Current targeted therapies against RAS-MAPK pathway, primarily enzymatic inhibitors, are effective for treating cancer, but their efficacy is often short-lived and they typically fail to elicit an anti-tumor immune response” stated Luc Otten, MD, Ph.D., CEO of TheraPPI. “The data reported by TheraPPI’s scientific co-founders highlight the potential of inhibiting ERK/MyD88 interaction to revolutionize RAS-MAPK pathway targeting and demonstrate the scientific rationale for developing TheraPPI’s first programme, which focuses on targeting ERK/MyD88 to fight cancer and is currently in non-clinical development stage.”
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Notes:
About the Publication:
“Targeting ERK-MYD88 interaction leads to ERK dysregulation and immunogenic cancer cell death” was published online in Nature Communications on August 15, 2024. The paper and its supplementary information are open access, and co-author disclosures are included within the paper.
About TheraPPI Bioscience:
TheraPPI is preclinical-stage biotech company developing protein interaction-modifying drugs to provide patients better treatments in oncology, rare diseases, and inflammatory conditions. TheraPPI was incubated within PULSALYS, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) of Lyon-St Etienne, France. TheraPPI’s two first programs target a novel MAPK protein interaction between ERK and MyD88, discovered by the founder team at the Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, France.
The prognosis of patients with advanced cancers remains poor. The MAPK signaling is hyperactivated in over 40% of human cancers and MAPK-activating mutations are responsible for certain rare diseases. The efficacy of current MAPK Inhibitors is undermined by cancer resistance and by their inability to cure these rare diseases.
TheraPPI’s lead program, which targets ERK/MyD88 interaction aims to achieve a high rate of clinical responses, overcome cancer resistance, and enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies, ultimately offering a better prognosis for patients with advanced cancers.
Read more: https://tppibio.com/
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About the Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, France: (https://www.crcl.fr/en/home/)
The Cancer Research Center of Lyon is a research institute affiliated with the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, the national health and research bodies (Inserm and CNRS), the Léon Bérard Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CLB) and the Lyon University Hospitals (HCL) as clinical partners. The CRCL was officially created in January 2011 and its contract was recently renewed for the 2020-2026 period. It comprises 26 teams, totalling more than 600 members, including 150 researchers and lecturers.
One of the main goals of the CRCL is to support the development of strong translational research to enable patients to rapidly benefit from breakthroughs in basic research. This bridge from “bench to bedside” was rendered possible due to the strong collaboration between clinicians and pathologists of the CLB and HCL and scientific teams of the CRCL, creating a continuity between basic research and clinical applications.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release includes forward-looking statements and assumptions which reflect the management’s current views of future events and operations. These forward-looking statements involve certain significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may (negatively or positively) differ substantially from the forward-looking statements described explicitly or implicitly by TheraPPI.
Contact:
TheraPPI Bioscience
Luc Otten
CEO and co-founder