AUM Biosciences (AUM), an award-winning company focused on the development of innovative and affordable oncology medicines with high unmet medical need in Asia, on 18^th July 2019 announced a global license agreement with Inflection Biosciences (Inflection) for exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise Inflection’s first-in-class PIM/PI3K/mTOR inhibitors.

Known as the IBL-300 series of molecules, the agreement will see AUM develop the lead candidate, IBL-302 (hereafter AUM302), which is currently in the pre-clinical stage of development with activity predicted across a range of cancers. It has been evaluated in over 700 cancer cell lines and has shown potential for clinical development in breast cancer, lung cancer, leukaemia and neuroblastoma.

AUM302 is the first ‘oral kinase inhibitor’ to uniquely inhibit three critical cancer targets (pan-PIM kinase, pan-PI3K and mTOR inhibition) via a single molecule. Kinase inhibitors are drugs that have played an increasingly prominent role in the treatment of cancer and inhibiting these three targets has been shown to be more effective than inhibiting them alone.

Mr Vishal Doshi, CEO, AUM Biosciences said: “With 60% of cancers worldwide diagnosed in Asia, we are committed to accelerating the development of high potential molecules for the benefit of patients in the region. Our unique Asia to a global approach to development aims to ensure that crucial drugs are made available for Asian patients in the shortest timeframe, as well as those in need globally.”

The license expands AUM’s pipeline following the recently acquired novel and highly selective Mnk inhibitor, AUM001, from Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

“Our dedication to addressing the significant unmet need for cancer patients is what drives us to be at the forefront of precision medicine, technology and the delivery of high-quality personalised care. Our collaboration with Inflection Biosciences is now an important part of this dedication,” Doshi added.

Mr Darren Cunningham, CEO of Inflection said: “Inflection Biosciences is committed to developing innovative targeted therapeutics for the benefit of cancer patients worldwide. We are pleased to partner with AUM Biosciences who will bring considerable drug development experience and expertise to ensure AUM302 is advanced towards regulatory approval in Asia and globally.”

The advancement of AUM302 continues AUM’s focus on developing a robust industry-leading pipeline of combinatorial therapies.

Combination therapy, the use of more than one type of therapy in treating a patient, is a hallmark of cancer treatment. The complexity of the disease – including its tendency to spread beyond its original site and become resistant to some drugs – underscores the need for multiple approaches to attack it. As well as being a monotherapy with three different targets, AUM302 has shown excellent combination potential, working to address the major problem of patient resistance to certain drugs.

AUM plans to commence Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies for AUM302 by 2020.