Second major acquisition sets Singapore headquartered company on course to uniquely drive global therapeutic innovation from Asia
SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AUM Biosciences (AUM), an award-winning company focused on the development of innovative and affordable oncology medicines with high unmet medical need in Asia, today announced a global license agreement with Inflection Biosciences (Inflection) for exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise Inflection’s first-in-class PIM/PI3K/mTOR inhibitors.
Known as the IBL-300 series of molecules, the agreement will see AUM develop the lead candidate, IBL-302 (hereafter AUM302), which is currently in the pre-clinical stage of development with activity predicted across a range of cancers. It has been evaluated in over 700 cancer cell lines and has shown potential for clinical development in breast cancer, lung cancer, leukaemia and neuroblastoma.
AUM302 is the first ‘oral kinase inhibitor’ to uniquely inhibit three critical cancer targets (pan-PIM kinase, pan-PI3K and mTOR inhibition) via a single molecule1. Kinase inhibitors are drugs that have played an increasingly prominent role in the treatment of cancer2 and inhibiting these three targets has been shown to be more effective than inhibiting them alone.
Mr Vishal Doshi, CEO, AUM Biosciences said: “With 60% of cancers worldwide diagnosed in Asia3, we are committed to accelerating the development of high potential molecules for the benefit of patients in the region. Our unique Asia to global approach to development aims to ensure that crucial drugs are made available for Asian patients in the shortest timeframe, as well as those in need globally.”
The license expands AUM’s pipeline following the recently acquired novel and highly selective Mnk inhibitor, AUM001, from Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
“Our dedication to addressing significant unmet need for cancer patients is what drives us to being at the forefront of precision medicine, technology and the delivery of high-quality personalised care. Our collaboration with Inflection Biosciences is now an important part of this dedication,” Doshi added.
Mr Darren Cunningham, CEO of Inflection said: “Inflection Biosciences is committed to developing innovative targeted therapeutics for the benefit of cancer patients worldwide. We are pleased to partner with AUM Biosciences who will bring considerable drug development experience and expertise to ensure AUM302 is advanced towards regulatory approval in Asia and globally.”
The advancement of AUM302 continues AUM’s focus on developing a robust industry leading pipeline of combinatorial therapies.
Combination therapy, the use of more than one type of therapy in treating a patient, is a hallmark of cancer treatment. The complexity of the disease – including its tendency to spread beyond its original site and become resistant to some drugs – underscores the need for multiple approaches to attack it. As well as being a monotherapy with three different targets, AUM302 has shown excellent combination potential, working to address the major problem of patient resistance to certain drugs.
AUM plans to commence Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies for AUM302 by 20201.
About AUM Biosciences
AUM Biosciences (AUM) is an oncology-focused Asian biotechnology company committed to developing affordable cancer therapies. Dedicated to unlocking the value in innovation, AUM harnesses the power of precision medicine and digital health to support patients, physicians and partners. AUM focuses on early-stage development of innovative treatment of cancers prevalent in Asia with the potential to address global markets.
Led by a highly-experienced management team with over 100 years of oncology drug development experience combined, AUM develops potent and highly selective therapeutics in oncology, with an aim to change the drug development paradigm by implementing a holistic approach to developing drugs.
Headquartered in Singapore, AUM is strategically positioned to work, partner and collaborate with leading research institutes, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies globally. AUM is the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2019 Asia-Pacific Biotech Entrepreneurial Company of the Year. For more information, please visit www.aumbiosciences.com.
About Inflection Biosciences
Inflection Biosciences Ltd, based in Dublin, is developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s pipeline of innovative cancer treatments was licensed from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). The pipeline comprises the first-in-class dual mechanism kinase inhibitors AUM-300 series (PIM/PI3K/mTOR inhibitors) partnered with AUM Biosciences, and internal programs IBL-202 (PIM/PI3K inhibitor) and the IBL-100 series (selective pan-PIM kinase inhibitors), currently in pre-clinical stages of development. Inflection Biosciences was named ‘Start-up Company of the Year’ at the 2014 Irish Pharma Awards. For more information please visit www.inflectionbio.com.
REFERENCES
1 Data on file.
2 National Institutes of Health – National Cancer Institute. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/kinase-inhibitor.
3 Bray F, et al. (2018). Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 68(6): 394-424. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21492
Contacts
For media enquiries, please contact:
GCI Health on behalf of AUM Biosciences
Rikki Jones | +65 8647 9707 | rikki.jones@gcihealth.com
Payal Sadhwani | +65 9654 6453 | payal.sadhwani@gcihealth.com
Inflection Biosciences
Darren Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer
dcunningham@inflectionbio.com
+353 (0)1 4003615