Targeted Combination Therapy and Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Cancers Driven by RAS (BIDMC 1223)

Category:    Therapeutics - Drugs

KeyWords:  Cancer;  Drug Target;  Method;  

BIDMC ID:    1223

Abstract:

*** New use of PI3K and MEK inhibitors to treat RAS-mutated Cancers*** Lung cancer is the most common cancer, with 1.4M new cases worldwide and 1.2M deaths annually. Rates in Europe and North America are especially high, with 66 per 100,000 U.S. residents afflicted. Of all lung cancers, 80% are non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancers. RAS mutated lung cancers present a large, unmet medical need for this indication, comprising 20-30% of NSCL cancers. There are no effective targeted therapies for this subset of cancers. In fact, the presence of RAS mutations only serves to identify those cancers unlikely to respond to targeted therapies. A team lead by BIDMC's Lewis Cantley has shown that the combination of PI3K and MEK inhibitors is a potent treatment for RAS cancers. Their invention pairs a companion diagnostic with combination drug therapy using PI3K and MEK inhibitors for patients with RAS mutations.

Inventor:   Lewis Cantley, Jeff Engelmann, Kwok Wong, and Liang Chen

Commercial Opportunity:

(Market) Any cancer driven by RAS with the lead indication for Ras-Mutant NSCL cancer. Approoximately 1M candidates per year for diagnostic testing. Annually, there are 270,000 new cases of NSCL worldwide. There are 50,000 US residents who are afflicted with NSCL. (Commercialization) - (1) New use patent claims for therapeutics (2) Flexible licensing options

Competitive Advantages:

(1) Improve therapeutic index with first targeted RAS NSCL cancer therapy (2) Repurpose PI3K and MEK inhibitors for use in a segmented cancer patient populations likely to be responsive

Related Publications:

Engelman, Nature Medicine (2008) 14:1351

State of Development:

* In vivo proof-of-concept in mice

Related Technology URL:

http://sysbio.med.harvard.edu/faculty/cantley/         http://www.nature.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/nm/journal/v14/n12/abs/nm.1890.html

Patent Status:

US patent #61/199,021 pending

TVO Contact Info:
     Jason S Felsch
     Senior Licensing Manager, TVO
     jfelsch@bidmc.harvard.edu
     Phone: 617-667-9490   Fax: 617-667-0646

     Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
     Technology Ventures Office  Room: BR-202
     330 Brookline Avenue
     Boston, MA 02215