SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kubota Vision Inc. (“Kubota Vision”), a clinical-stage specialty ophthalmology company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (Tokyo 4596), announced today the submission of novel Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 (VAP-1) inhibitor compounds discovered by Kubota Vision to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) for screening in the NCI-60 Human Tumor Cell Lines Screen. The NCI DTP will evaluate the compounds’ anti-tumor activity against 60 human cancer cell lines from nine types of tumors, including leukemia, lung, colon, breast, prostate, brain, kidney, ovarian and skin cancer.
During R&D activities to develop innovative therapeutics for inflammatory eye conditions, Kubota Vision discovered several novel VAP-1 inhibitors that are very potent and highly selective. VAP-1 inhibitors, also known as Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase (SSAO) inhibitors, are a promising new class of drugs being developed primarily to treat inflammation-driven diseases. While Kubota Vision has focused on eye inflammation, VAP-1 inhibitors can also be potentially used for the treatment of certain types of cancer. Cancers reported to be associated with VAP-1 include colorectal cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, and certain brain tumors. In particular, VAP-1 plays a role in harmful cell trafficking, which occurs during tumor progression and the metastatic spread of cancer. Therefore, VAP-1 inhibitors may be effective in treating or preventing metastatic cancer.
The NCI-60 Human Tumor Cell Lines Screen has served the global cancer research community for over 20 years. The NCI-60 screen uses 60 different human tumor cell lines to identify and characterize novel compounds with growth inhibition or killing of tumor cells. Up to 3,000 small molecules, synthetic or purified natural products, can be screened per year for potential anticancer activity. This screen also allows for prioritization of selected agents for further evaluation by the NCI in collaboration with the submitting company.
Ryo Kubota, MD, PhD, Chairman, President and CEO of Kubota Vision Inc., stated, “We are grateful and honored that the NCI DTP, a historical and proven program with over 20 years of achievement, will provide us with the opportunity to screen our VAP-1 inhibitors in the NCI-60. It is exciting that our VAP-1 inhibitor projects found during a target discovery phase have the potential to be used as cancer treatments.”
About Kubota Vision Inc.
Kubota Vision Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (Tokyo 4596) committed to translating innovation into a diverse portfolio of drugs and devices to preserve and restore vision for millions of people worldwide. Kubota Pharmaceutical group’s development pipeline includes drug candidates for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, Stargardt disease, and optogenetics-based gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. The company is also developing a handheld OCT device for the monitoring of neovascular retinal diseases, to be used directly by patients, and wearable device for myopia control. https://www.kubotavision.com/; https://www.kubotaholdings.co.jp/en/
About NCI Developmental Therapeutics Program
The NCI Development Therapeutics Program (DTP) provides services and resources to the academic and private-sector research communities worldwide to facilitate the discovery and development of new cancer therapeutic agents. Since its inception in 1955 by Congress, DTP has supported the development of more than 40 US-licensed anti-cancer agents through extensive collaborations with academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For more information, please visit https://dtp.cancer.gov.
Cautionary Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations related to our development plans and ability to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates and the potential efficacy, future development plans and commercial potential of our product candidates. These statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results, events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include, but are not limited to: our investigational product candidates may not demonstrate the expected safety and efficacy; our pre-clinical development efforts may not yield additional product candidates; any of our or our collaborators’ product candidates may fail in development, may not receive required regulatory approvals, or may be delayed to a point where they are not commercially viable; our clinical trials could be delayed; new developments in the intensely competitive ophthalmic pharmaceutical market may require changes in our clinical trial plans or limit the potential benefits of our investigational product candidates; the impact of expanded product development and clinical activities on operating expenses; adverse conditions in the general domestic and global economic markets; as well as the other risks identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of the foregoing risks and other risk factors, please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings (Kubota Vision’s parent company) investor relations website (https://www.kubotaholdings.co.jp/en/ir/) and on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).
“Kubota Vision”, the Kubota Vision logo and “Kubota” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Kubota Vision Inc. or Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings in various jurisdictions.
Contacts
Media and Investor Relations:
Hiroki Maekawa
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: +81-3-6550-8928
Email: pr@kubotaholdings.co.jp