Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, today announced the formation of a Mesothelioma Clinical Advisory Board to support the Company’s preclinical mesothelioma oncology program. The Board is comprised of four world-renown researchers from major research institutions specializing in the treatment of mesothelioma.
“We continue to develop a robust research program around our Reqorsa® Gene Therapy to expand its potential benefit to new patient populations, and we are pleased to assemble a group of highly respected physicians to assist in advancing our preclinical program in mesothelioma,” said Ryan Confer, President and Chief Executive Officer at Genprex. “This group of world class researchers will not only provide advice and input to assist the Genprex team in moving forward our potentially promising program in mesothelioma, but the formation of this board underscores our continuous efforts to advance our research programs in some of the most difficult to treat cancers with patients who have limited treatment options or an unmet medical need.”
Expression of TUSC2 is downregulated in 84% of mesotheliomas. Genprex collaborators at New York University Langone Health will present additional positive preclinical data on TUSC2 for the treatment of mesothelioma next month at the 2024 EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. TUSC2 is the tumor suppressor gene used in Reqorsa® Gene Therapy (Quaratusugene ozeplasmid). REQORSA consists of a TUSC2 gene expressing plasmid encapsulated in non-viral lipid-based nanoparticles in a lipoplex form (the Company’s Oncoprex® Delivery System), which has a positive charge. REQORSA is injected intravenously and specifically targets cancer cells. REQORSA is designed to deliver the functioning TUSC2 gene to negatively charged cancer cells while minimizing uptake by normal tissue. Laboratory studies conducted at MD Anderson show that the uptake of TUSC2 in tumor cells in vitro after REQORSA treatment was 10 to 33 times the uptake in normal cells.
According to the Center for Disease Control, mesothelioma is a cancer that forms in the thin tissue that lines many internal organs, called the mesothelium. The most common kind of mesothelioma forms in the tissue around the lungs, called the pleura. This is called pleural mesothelioma, which accounts for 80-90% of all mesothelioma diagnoses. Approximately 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and there are approximately 2,500 mesothelioma-related deaths each year in the U.S. The life expectancy for pleural mesothelioma is 18 months, and the 3-year survival rate with treatment for pleural mesothelioma is 23%.
About Reqorsa® Gene Therapy
REQORSA (quaratusugene ozeplasmid) for NSCLC and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) consists of the TUSC2 gene expressing plasmid encapsulated in non-viral nanoparticles made from lipid molecules (Genprex’s ONCOPREX® Delivery System) with a positive electrical charge. REQORSA is injected intravenously and specifically targets cancer cells, which generally have a negative electrical charge. REQORSA is designed to deliver the functioning TUSC2 gene to cancer cells while minimizing their uptake by normal tissue. REQORSA has a multimodal mechanism of action whereby it interrupts cell signaling pathways that cause replication and proliferation of cancer cells, re-establishes pathways for programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in cancer cells, and modulates the immune response against cancer cells.
Genprex’s strategy is to develop REQORSA in combination with currently approved therapies and believes that REQORSA’s unique attributes position it to provide treatments that improve on these current therapies for patients with NSCLC, SCLC, and possibly other cancers.
About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes. Genprex’s technologies are designed to administer disease-fighting genes to provide new therapies for large patient populations with cancer and diabetes who currently have limited treatment options. Genprex works with world-class institutions and collaborators to develop drug candidates to further its pipeline of gene therapies in order to provide novel treatment approaches. Genprex’s oncology program utilizes its systemic, non-viral Oncoprex® Delivery System which encapsulates the gene-expressing plasmids using lipid-based nanoparticles in a lipoplex form. The resultant product is administered intravenously, where it is taken up by tumor cells that then express tumor suppressor proteins that were deficient in the tumor. The Company’s lead product candidate, Reqorsa® Gene Therapy (quaratusugene ozeplasmid), is being evaluated in two clinical trials as a treatment for NSCLC and SCLC. Each of Genprex’s lung cancer clinical programs has received a Fast Track Designation from the FDA for the treatment of that patient population, and Genprex’s SCLC program has received an FDA Orphan Drug Designation. Genprex’s diabetes gene therapy approach is comprised of a novel infusion process that uses an AAV vector to deliver Pdx1 and MafA genes directly to the pancreas. In models of Type 1 diabetes, GPX-002 transforms alpha cells in the pancreas into functional beta-like cells, which can produce insulin but may be distinct enough from beta cells to evade the body’s immune system. In a similar approach, GPX-002 for Type 2 diabetes, where autoimmunity is not at play, is believed to rejuvenate and replenish exhausted beta cells.
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