Bloomberg
Senhwa Biosciences Announces Successful Awardee of Anticancer Pipeline, Pidnarulex, in NIH-Sponsored NExT Program
Dec 01, 2022
TAIPEI and SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Senhwa Biosciences, Inc.
(TPEx: 6492), a drug development company focusing on first-in-class
therapeutics for oncology, rare diseases, and infectious diseases , announced
that their first in class new drug Pidnarulex (CX-5461) , has been
successfully selected to the anticancer pipeline of NIH-sponsored NExT
Program (NCI Experimental Therapeutics Program), which will foster the
exploration of its therapeutic potential in unmet medical needs and
advancement to market. .
(PRNewsfoto/Senhwa Biosciences, Inc.)
The mission of the NExT Program is to advance clinical practice and bring
improved therapies to patients with cancers by supporting the most promising
new drug discovery and development projects. "The NExT Program does not
directly fund but guide the project to its success ; applications with
exceptional science cannot be accepted unless a clear path to the clinical
practice or potential benefit to patients is identified. Senhwa is honored and
will partner with the NCI to facilitate the milestone-driven progression of
Pidnarulex (CX-5461) towards clinical evaluation and registration," said Dr.
Jin-Ding Huang, the Chief Executive Officer of Senhwa Biosciences,.
Although Awardees will not necessarily receive direct funding; rather, the NCI
may allocate various collaborations and grant resources toward the
implementation and development of the awarded projects. NCI operates the
program very much like a small pharmaceutical or biotechnology company by
working with external investigators and top scientific experts to advance
promising or novel therapies from the earliest stages of research to human
clinical trials.
About Pidnarulex (CX-5461)
Specific mutations within the HR pathway may be exploited by Pidnarulex
through a "synthetic lethality" approach by targeting the DNA repair defects
in HR Deficient tumors. Specifically, Pidnarulex is designed to stabilize DNA
G-quadruplexes of cancer cells, which leads to disruption of the cell's
replication fork. While acting in concert with HR pathway deficiencies, such
as BRCA1/2 mutations, replication forks stall and cause DNA breaks, ultimately
resulting in cancer cell death. On the other hand, PMCC postulates a
different mechanism of action. Specifically, it is thought that Pidanrulex
acts as a RNA Pol I Inhibitor.
About Senhwa Biosciences
Senhwa Biosciences, Inc. is a leading clinical-stage company focused on
developing first-in-class, next-generation DNA damage response therapeutics
for patients with unmet medical needs in oncology. Headquartered in Taiwan,
with an operational base in San Diego, California, Senhwa is well-positioned
to oversee the development of its compounds.
Development is currently focused on two lead drug candiates, Silmitasertib
(CX-4945) and Pidnarulex (CX-5461), both with novel mechanisms of action as
anti-cancer drugs for multiple indications. Clinical trials are currently
ongoing in Australia, Canada, United States, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Visit Senhwa Biosciences website for more details: www.senhwabio.com