Rottapharm Biotech to present at EANO 2019 its selective kinase inhibitor CR13626 for glioblastoma

MONZA, Italy - Sept. 18, 2019 - PRLog -- Rottapharm Biotech, an R&D company dedicated to drug discovery and development, today announced that key preclinical data of CR13626, its novel small molecule candidate for the treatment of glioblastoma, will be released at the 14^th Meeting of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) in Lyon, France, September 19–22, 2019.

The presentation "CR13626, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor crossing the blood brain barrier, reduces tumour growth and prolongs survival in a mouse model of glioblastoma", will take place on 20 September.

"Glioblastoma is the most malignant form of primary brain cancer, and treatment options are still far from being optimal. Tumour heterogeneity and the inability of molecules to reach and stay in the brain, are among the main causes of therapeutic failure" said Lucio Rovati, Rottapharm Biotech CEO/CSO. "CR13626 emerged from our large research program on kinase inhibitors as a product with the right characteristics for targeting glioblastoma".

Gianfranco Caselli, Pharmacology Director at Rottapharm Biotech added "CR13626 selectively blocks multiple kinases relevant to glioblastoma and crosses the blood-brain barrier without being a substrate of the efflux transporters that push drugs out of the brain, thus contributing to tumour resistance. The present findings prove our original hypothesis: the unique ability of CR13626 to work efficiently in the brain tumour and surrounding microenvironment translates into a marked inhibition of cancer growth and a significantly increased survival of mice orthotopically implanted with human glioblastoma cells".

About glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is a tumour characterized by high grade of cellular proliferation, invasiveness, cellular atypia and angiogenesis, all of which contribute to poor prognosis (with a patient median survival of approximately 15 months from diagnosis, and only 5% of patients with a five-year survival).

About Rottapharm Biotech

Rottapharm Biotech is an R&D company dedicated to innovative drug discovery and development. Rottapharm Biotech operates with a mixed discovery model including small molecules and a proprietary technology platform for the generation/selection of monoclonal antibodies. The R&D expertise embraces medicinal/computational chemistry, new target validation, pharmacological/pharmacokinetic characterization of new drug candidates, and design/conduct of innovative clinical trials. The company pipeline covers different therapeutic areas with focus on rheumatology (rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis), pain and inflammation, immunomodulation and immuno-oncology, and selected oncology areas. The company strategy is to look for partnership at early stage of development, ranging from preclinical significant stages to phase II proof-of-concept trials. For additional information about the company, visit www.rottapharmbiotech.com.