Breakthrough therapies targeting DNA Damage Response, aiming to cure cancer and inflammation
OXC-101 is a novel first-in-class cancer treatment. It kills cancer cells and spares healthy cells, by exploiting oxidative DNA damage and the DNA Damage Response. OXC-201 provides a unique approach to block the onset of both inflammation and fibrosis.
Cancer is still a leading cause of death and patients suffer from both the disease itself and from often aggressive treatments.
Oxcia battles cancer with an improved and simplified treatment using OXC-101 (Karonudib/TH1579), killing cancer cells whilst sparing the healthy cells.
OXC-101 takes advantage of the high degree of DNA damage and oxidative stress that exist specifically in cancer cells. OXC-101 blocks cancer cell division and introduces additional oxidative DNA damage until the DNA damage reaches a level where it is impossible to repair, the cancer cell cannot grow and subsequently dies.
Oxcia is a pioneer in targeted drug development based on oxidative DNA damage and DNA damage response (DDR).
Professor Thomas Helleday (co-founder of Oxcia) and his team were first to demonstrate the DDR concept for cancer treatment, more specifically killing tumour suppressor BReast CAncer (BRCA) mutated cancers using PARP inhibitors. These PARP inhibitors represent a new class of treatments already approved for use in mutated ovarian, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers and are likely to gain approval in further indications. PARP inhibitors are currently selling at about $2 billion per annum and a peak sale of $8.8 billion in 2027 is expected. The DDR area is a exciting new R&D area that has attracted major pharma, e.g. Pfizer and AstraZeneca, as well as smaller specialist companies. Oxcia is at the forefront in exploiting DDR mechanisms and its drug OXC-101 has first-in class potential.
The company has currently two ongoing phase I trials underway at Karolinska and Sahlgrenska University Hospitals.
Oxcia is developing the concept further with OXC-101, taking advantage of the high load of endogenous DNA damage and oxidative stress in cancer cells. OXC-101 is a novel DDR treatment, fighting cancer by stopping the cancer cell from dividing and causing more oxidative DNA damage, ultimately causing the cancer cell to die while sparing healthy cell. OXC-101 has potential to halt cancer development in many cancer indications.
OXC-201 is a novel small molecule OGG1 inhibitor in Oxcia’s pipeline, currently in preclinical development. By exploiting the DDR concept this compound provides a unique way to block the onset of inflammation and fibrosis. Potential indications include idiopathic interstitial lung fibrosis disease (ILD), sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In inflammation and fibrosis, the tissue is exposed to oxidative stress, which causes oxidative damage to DNA. OGG1 is a protein that binds to these damaged bases in a process called base excision repair, which was discovered by Professor Tomas Lindahl, and for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2015.