Development Begins on Fourth Generation of Primary Drug TLR-AD1 Targeting CNS Tumors
Potential for Improved Outcomes for Cancer Patients in the $100 Billion a Year Immune Oncology Market
CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESSWIRE / July 27, 2023 / NovAccess Global Inc. (OTCQB:XSNX), a biomedical company developing novel immunotherapies for brain tumor patients, today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and formation of a partnership with BCN Biosciences to expand its immunotherapy platform. Utilizing BCN's small molecule drug BCN057, developed with support from the National Institutes of Health and in collaboration with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), NovAccess Global has begun the development of a fourth generation of its novel brain tumor immunotherapy TLR-AD1, targeting glioblastoma.
Awarded Orphan Drug Status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022, TLR-AD1improves the ability of specialized blood cells, known as Dendritic Cells (DCs), to recognize tumors. These specialized blood cells then provide a ‘zip code' to the immune system improving its ability to seek out and destroy tumor cells in the body. While TLR-AD1 is the most advanced technology to enhance DC immunotherapy, a combination therapy leveraging BCN057 could further enhance DC tumor recognition as well as increase DC yield from patients' blood. The partnership between NovAccess Global and BCN provides a unique opportunity to further develop BCN057 in combination with TLR-AD1 to benefit patients with CNS cancer and potentially other cancer tumor types.
Based in Pasadena, CA and founded more than ten years ago, BCN Biosciences is a privately held oncology-focused drug development company leveraging long-term partnerships with NIH, Kansas University Medical Center, and UCLA. BCN has a portfolio of drug assets focusing on novel cancer targets and therapies that affect how cancer cells evade the body's immune system. BCN is currently developing two classes of novel small molecule drugs that target the RAS signaling pathway, a key molecular switch in the development of malignancies, and improve patient response to current classes of immune oncology therapy.
"We are very excited to collaborate with BCN by applying its BCN057 drug to enhance NovAccess Global's immunotherapy platform technology," said NovAccess Global's Chief Executive Officer Dr. Dwain K. Irvin. "We already have very promising pre-clinical data and we need to officially partner with BCN to take this preliminary data one step forward. This partnership is vital to our efforts of advancing our technology as we move into and through clinical trials. As data supports, we expect to add to our patent and license portfolio which is expected to bolster our position as a key player in defining the next generation of immune oncology therapies. Once proven in brain tumor cellular therapy, our drug platform may be vital to other cancer tumor types."
"BCN057 could make immunotherapies like TLR-AD1 even more effective by denying cancer cells the ability to evade the immune system," said Dr. Andrew Norris, BCN co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Norris, who also serves on the NovAccess Global Scientific Advisory Board, added, "The BCN team is excited to work with NovAccess Global to develop novel first-in-class technology that will overcome barriers to treat cancer and significantly benefit patients facing glioblastoma and CNS tumors worldwide."
The partnership with BCN will further strengthen the IP portfolio supporting NovAccess Global's 4th generation of TLR-AD1. This partnership will increase opportunities for third-party licensing of NovAccess Global's drug platform to pharmaceutical companies active in developing new classes of therapies to compete in the global immune oncology market which today exceeds more than $100 billion a year.
NovAccess Global plans to enhance TLR-AD1with its artificial intelligence (AI) driven Precision Medicine Division. Through this division, NovAccess intends to develop a comprehensive collection of personalized therapeutics and treatment protocols leveraging advances in bioinformatics, computational science, and molecular medicine. Clinical insights from the Precision Medicine Division will help to determine which drug variation based on the TLR-AD1 platform is most appropriate for patients to illicit the strongest and most durable immune response to their individual tumor type.
About BCN Biosciences
BCN Biosciences is a biopharma company with core competency in oncology drug discovery and development. BCN's mission is to improve cancer treatment by advancing new therapeutics that target specific mutations and immune system vulnerabilities. BCN Biosciences' experienced team of drug discovery and oncology experts is focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of small molecule therapeutic candidates.
Currently BCN is developing drugs which target tumors driven by mutations in the RAS protein. KRAS mutant cancers represent over a quarter of all human cancers. These cancers are hard to treat because mutations in RAS make cancer cells more resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs as well as immunotherapies. This is most prominent in specific KRAS mutations such as G12C, G12D, G12V and G13D mutations. Such mutations cover a significant population of epithelial cancers patients, including almost half of colorectal, 80% of pancreatic, more than 30% of lung, a quarter of female reproductive cancers, as well as breast cancer. BCN is developing first-in-class therapeutics which target the oncogenic RAS pathway using a novel mechanism that restores the expression of a protein, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), in cancer cells. The advantage of this approach is that the inhibitors are less prone to RAS related drug resistance. Recent FDA approvals of KRASG12C inhibitors such as Amgen's (AMGN) LUMAKRASTM and Mirati's (MRTX) KRAZATI® have renewed the excitement in targeting the pathway. However, drugs targeting the greater patient population with KRASG12V and KRASG12D mutations have only very recently advanced beyond preclinical study status. BCN is targeting this large and unmet clinical need.
BCN Biosciences also has an additional program in cancer immunotherapy, which includes first-in-class small molecules that inhibit or modulate the expression of PD-1 from within the T-cells that are present in the tumor microenvironment. This differs significantly from the existing industry model of blocking the interaction of PD-1 and PD-L1. In most cancers the response rate for such approach has been unsatisfactory and, in many cases has shown to exhibit toxicity. BCN's therapeutic approach may open new avenues to address patient segments who are currently not responding to monoclonal antibodies.
About NovAccess Global
NovAccess Global is a biomedical company accelerating novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Our goal is to discover, develop and bring to market novel and innovative medicine and medical devices to improve the quality of care for cancer and neurological patients.
NovAccess Global is currently developing a cancer vaccine therapy that enhances the patient's immune response against brain tumors. Our Company has a novel immunotherapeutic approach to treating brain tumor patients with glioblastoma, the most common adult brain tumor with a 15-month median survival after diagnosis. Our patented technology is designed to combine a dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic approach with a unique combination of toll-like receptor (TLR) adjuvants, TLR-AD1, to help promote an enhanced immune response against the patient's tumor. Our platform technology focuses on enhancing the patient's immune cells to fight their unique cancer by utilizing the antigens specific to the patient's tumor. It is a meaningful technology that could significantly improve the quality of life and prognosis for the many people who suffer from brain tumors. For more information, please visit novaccessglobal.com.
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Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in the Company's disclosures or filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. You are further cautioned that penny stocks and stocks of smaller companies like NovAccess Global Inc. are inherently volatile and risky and that no investor should buy this stock unless they can afford the loss of their entire investment. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.
Investor Relations Contact:
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Darrow Associates
631-766-4528
jdarrow@darrowir.com
SOURCE: NovAccess Global Inc.
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