Race Oncology’s lead asset drug Zantrene has shown that it is effective in reducing the risk of heart damage for patients undergoing standard of care chemotherapy.

It’s well known for decades that chemotherapy is highly effective in destroying tumorous cells and reducing the risk of cancer spreading.

But what people may not know is that high doses of chemo drugs can cause side effects that include heart disease, and sometimes even irreversible heart failure.

Various heart-related problems that can happen when using chemo include cardiomyopathy (weakening of the heart muscle), arrhythmia (heart rhythm problems), stroke and heart attack.

A recent study also shows that adult cancer survivors have a 42% greater risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases later in life than those without cancer.

To avoid these problems, many cancer specialists have resorted to administering lower doses of chemo drugs, but this reduces the effectiveness of fighting the cancer cells.

There is a clear unmet need for a more effective solution and researchers are now trying to come up with an effective cardiotoxicity drug, an opportunity that’s estimated to reach billions of dollars.

One ASX-listed biotech that’s at the forefront of this research is Race Oncology (ASX:RAC).

In a pre-clinical research program, Race’s lead asset Zantrene was shown to protect heart muscle cells from anthracycline (specifically doxorubicin) induced cell death, while improving the killing of breast cancer cells.

Anthracyclines are one of the most effective anti-cancer treatments ever developed, and are currently used in more cancer settings than any other class of chemotherapeutic agent.

Race’s CEO, Phillip Lynch, told Stockhead that despite the effectiveness of chemo using anthracyclines, it can  produce undesirable consequences.

“Chemo is a highly successful and effective treatment, but it carries toxicity risk. And a specific toxicity that it can cause is that of cardiac damage and and later cardiac related death, and that’s an unfortunate  risk with chemotherapy,” Lynch said.

Lynch believes that the latest finding on Zantrene has presented Race with a huge opportunity.

“It’s an enormous opportunity for us because chemotherapeutics are simply the world’s most prescribed and used drug for treating cancer. It’s standard of care,” Lynch said.

“But one very clear unmet need is that as you use higher doses, which improve its cancer effect, you’re risking toxicity and specifically cardio damage.”

 

Breakthrough results

The breakthrough results in Zantrene concluded last November found that Zantrene was able to protect primary human heart muscle (cardiomyocyte) cells from doxorubicin-induced cell death in breast cancer patients, while at the same time improve the killing of the cancer cells.

These results demonstrated the high level of effectiveness when Zantrene is combined with the standard of care chemotherapeutic doxorubicin.

“We’re not trying to tell the world to change what they’re currently doing,” Lynch said.

“We’re simply saying to the world, continue doing what you’re doing, but add Zantrene to get a better cancer effect, and you’ll reduce cardiac damage. That’s a win win.”

The drug’s effectiveness was also supported by results of an animal model released in June.

In that study, Zantrene was found to protect the hearts of mice from the damaging effects of anthracycline doxorubicin even when the chemotherapeutic dose was increased, without significant additional toxicity or bone marrow suppression.

Race’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Daniel Tillett, said those results were a major step forward for Race.

“When combined with the historical clinical data around Zantrene heart safety, we believe Zantrene may offer millions of patients a unique combination of cardioprotection with enhanced anti-cancer efficacy.

“Such opportunities are rare in oncology,” Tillet said.

 

Multiple opportunities with Zantrene

Race is currently pursuing two other opportunities with regards to Zantrene.

In September last year, Race demonstrated that Zantrene was a potent Fat Mass and Obesity-associated protein (FTO) inhibitor in melanoma cancer.

Data from the expression of FTO in melanoma patients clearly showed an association between FTO expression level and sensitivity to Zantrene.

Zantrene is also currently being trialled in a Phase 1b/2 Zantrene study into AML (acute myeloid leukemia). A dose escalation stage was just completed successfully in May.

“It’s a combination drug trial to be conducted in Israel, meaning Zantrene will be combined with other drugs and we’re advancing now to the efficacy phase of that trial,” Lynch explained.

Zantrene is a repurposed drug which was originally developed as a heart-safer chemotherapeutic.

In the late 1980s, the drug was the subject of a US-based Phase 3 trial in advanced breast cancer patients, which showed that it had comparable efficacy to doxorubicin but with significantly less damage to the patients’ hearts.

Since then, there’s been a number of cardiac friendly drugs that were designed to help the cardiac function, but none are widely used in the market because their effect appears to mitigate the very anti-cancer effect of anthracyclines.

Lynch believes that Zantrene and Race present a compelling investment for investors.

“Because of the multiple indications we’re pursuing we are a lower risk drug whose opportunities are unique  for investors,” said Lynch.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Race Oncology, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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