By Allan Maurer
DURHAM, NC – Pique Therapeutics Inc. and Technomark Life Sciences have entered into a co-development and licensing agreement for Pique’s lead therapeutic candidate, PT 107, for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, the number one cancer killer in the United States.
About 80 percent of all lung cancers are NSCLC, and they kill more people than colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined. The five-year survival rate for this aggressive killer is less than 5 percent. A million new cases are diagnosed yearly with nearly 200,000 in the United States.
Many of the most aggressive and deadly cancers, including non small cell lung cancer, prevent the immune system from attacking tumors. Pique’s technology uses several unique methods to prime the body to attack them with killer T-cells.
Pique and Technomark will conduct a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial, enrolling 100 patients with Stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer who have failed previous therapy.
The Phase 2 trial seeks to confirm the safety of PT 107, and further evaluate the efficacy of the drug, with overall survival as the primary endpoint.
Pique and Technomark will share the responsibilities and costs of the study, which will be conducted in India. Under the terms of the agreement, Pique will retain all rights to PT 107 in major global markets, including the United States, Europe, and Japan.
In exchange for Technomark’s contributions to the development program, Technomark will receive exclusive rights to PT 107 in selected emerging markets (e.g., India, China), and will pay Pique a percentage of sublicense fees, milestone payments, and royalties on PT 107 in these emerging markets.
Technomark will also receive a portion of equity in Pique Therapeutics, based on the achievement of development milestones associated with the Phase 2 trial.
Founded in 2005, Pique raised an A round of at least $535,000 in June, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors included Piedmont Angel Network and the Wilmington Investors Network.
In a Phase 1 trial, PT 107 showed a dramatic extension of overall survival in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer, as patients on the drug lived more than twice as long as is typical for this patient population.
Remarkably, over 30 percent of the patients survived 4 years or longer. Currently-approved treatments extend overall survival in this group of patients by approximately 2-3 months.
“We are very pleased to work with Technomark on the clinical development of our lead therapeutic candidate, PT 107,” said Christopher S. Meldrum, President of Pique Therapeutics.
“Both parties recognize the enormous potential of this collaboration to advance a safer and more effective treatment option for patients with this terrible and highly prevalent disease.”
The company was founded on the research of Eckhard R. Podack, M.D., Ph.D., who is Chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Miami.
Pique has products in development to treat lung, pancreatic, colorectal, and head & neck cancers.
Pique Therapeutics is one of TechJournal South’s Tech 50 companies to watch.
Previously on TechJournal South:
Pique Therapeutics vaccines attack aggressive cancers
http://techjournalsouth.com/news/article.html?item_id=4466
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