PEP-Therapy, Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC)
The problem: Despite many advances in the treatment of cancer, it remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity.
The answer: PEP-Therapy is developing drugs based on peptides - protein fragments that are small enough to get through the cell wall and lock onto intracellular targets, blocking the effects of cancer-promoting enzymes. It calls these 'Cell Penetrating & Interfering Peptides'. The first product, DPT-PEP1, targets the caspase-9/PP2 pathway, which is implicated in the development of breast, lung and ovary cancers. DPT-PEP1 consists of two sequences, a shuttle to deliver the drug into cancer cells and a second to block the target protein. Preclinical results support the initial clinical development of DPT-PEP1 in triple-negative breast, lung and ovary cancers, uveal melanoma (orphan disease) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Two further products are in preclinical development.The company: PEP-Therapy chief executive Antoine Prestat co-founded the company in 2014 with Angelita Rebollo, Didier Decaudin and Fariba Némati. The company builds on research carried out at Pierre & Marie Curie University, Inserm and Institut Curie. It plans to perform early clinical trials then outlicense its drugs to pharma and biotech companies for onward clinical development.
PEP-Therapy and partners have been awarded a €6 million grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme, for a study on the treatment of uveal melanoma, a rare disease. The company raised €1 million in venture capital and €300,000 from a business angel in 2015.
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