Defence Therapeutics Inc. have announced the publication of a peer-reviewed study on the anti-cancer properties of its unconjugated Accum®.
The new Accum® study outlines the anti-cancer properties of the product – one of Defence’s technologies designed to treat established T-cell lymphoma.
The results show that the unconjugated Accum® molecule disrupts multiple intracellular events in cancer cells leading to its implosion.
The study, ‘Intratumoral administration of unconjugated Accum® impairs the growth of pre-established solid lymphoma tumours,’ is published in the journal of Cancer Science.
Accum® holds many advantages
The urgent need for new anti-cancer therapeutics fuels active research in this field.
Because of this, Accum® maintains many advantages over molecules discovered by high throughput screening. This is due to a number of reasons, including:
- Being rationally designed to break down endosomal membranes and hence has a known initial function;
- The chemical structure of the molecule could be easily modified to generate several Accum® variants;
- It can be easily linked to antibodies as an in situ cleavable anti-cancer molecule (to increase its specificity); and
- It is highly versatile, targeting a common pathway relevant to most cancer indication.
Dr Rafei, the Chief Scientific Officer of Defence Therapeutics, said: “This study presents insights of how the unconjugated Accum® molecule disrupts multiple intracellular events in cancer cells leading to its implosion.
“The recruitment of important immune T cells (CD4 and CD8) highlights another very important concept as it clearly shows that the molecule attacks cancer cells on two fronts: by inducing cell death and by alerting the immune system of a danger to fight.”
Highlights of the Accum® study
The study found that the Accum® molecule induces cell death of various cancer cell lines, including T-cell lymphoma, colon, melanoma, and breast.
Accum® triggers the intracellular production of reactive oxygen species and disrupts endosomal membranes.
The results showed that cancer cells die through a process called immunogenic cell death, once encountering the molecule. The Accum® effect required both CD4 and CD8 T cells, which are important in fighting cancer.
As well as this, the Accum® study demonstrated that the intratumoral administration of Accum® synergises with common immune-checkpoint inhibitors. This leads to efficient tumour growth control.
Mr Plouffe, Chief Executive Officer of Defence Therapeutics, stated: “This prestigious peer-reviewed publication provides an important validation of the antitumoral properties of unconjugated Accum®.
“It also opens up a new line of investigation where more potent Accum® variants could be tested as an anti-cancer injectable.”
Unconjugated Accum® could be used as an anti-cancer molecule
The effects of the molecule are both interesting and unexpected. This is because the induction of immunogenic cell death brings an extra immune component to the equation.
As shown in the Accum® study, this may turn a ‘cold’ into a ‘hot’ tumour with increased infiltration of immune cells.
