Download PG12-27 Mackay Lay summary Principal Investigator: Professor

PG12-27 Mackay Lay summary
Principal Investigator: Professor Simon Mackay, Professor of Medicinal
Chemistry at the Strathclyde Institute for Pharmacy and Biological
Sciences, Glasgow
Lay title:
Development of a new drug to treat advanced stage prostate cancer.
What are you proposing?
Early hormone-dependent prostate cancer can be treated surgically, by radiation and by hormone-blocking
drugs. The majority of prostate cancer patients who receive treatment respond favourably with response rates
of over 80% reported. However, within 12-18 months, a large proportion of these patients relapse and
progress to advanced stage prostate cancer, that is resistant to the effects of the hormone-blocking drugs.
Once diagnosed with the advanced stage of the disease. Cancer chemotherapy with drugs such as docetaxel
treatment prolongs life expectancy by an average of 6 months. Of the 1 in 6 men diagnosed with prostate
cancer, 1 in 33 will die of the advanced disease.
We have identified a protein that is found in higher levels in patients with advanced prostate cancer that
appears to be key to its development. We have made completely new drug-like compounds that can prevent
this protein from working and which have the potential to turn off the signals that maintain the cancer’s
survival. This is a totally new style of treatment that has never been tried before in the clinic. However, our
compounds require further refinement to make them sufficiently potent and robust enough to avoid too rapid
breakdown in patients in order to achieve a once daily oral dose.
Why are you proposing it?
Docetaxel prolongs life by 6 months and is the only available treatment for men with advanced stage prostate
cancer. We have identified a new way to treat the disease that offers a way of extending the life expectancy of
these patients.
How are you proposing to do it?
Our Drug Discovery Group at Strathclyde was set up with the primary aim of finding new drug treatments for
challenging diseases by harnessing the skills and expertise in drug research in the West of Scotland. Projects
pursued by the group has attracted ~£15M of funding in drug discovery research from charities, government
and commercial investment. Strathclyde University’s track record in drug research in particular is impressive
and has contributed to a significant number of products in the market. For the University, this has realised
approximately $70 million in drug-related royalties over the last ten years. For our licensees, it has meant $2.4
billion in sales.
We will use this multi-disciplinary expertise to turn our drug-like compounds into a commercially viable drug
candidate that the pharmaceutical industry will license for development to be used in patient clinical trials.
How long will it take?
Prostate Cancer UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1005541) and in Scotland (SC039332). A company limited by guarantee registered number 2653887 (England and Wales).
Overall the project will take 3 years; the first two years will involve refining the compounds into candidate
drugs, whilst studies performed in parallel will test that they are retaining their potency and not being broken
down to quickly in clinical models. The final year will involve testing in the same models to ensure the
compounds are safe before being tried in patients.
What is the budget?
£249,289
What are the expected outcomes?
A new drug treatment for advanced stage prostate cancer under license for Phase I clinical trials.
How could it make a difference to the lives of men affected by prostate
cancer?
Improved life expectancy over and above the 6 months associated with the present ‘gold standard’ docetaxel.
Please write a summary of the project in one sentence only.
To utilise our multidisciplinary expertise and experience to develop our existing class of drug-like compounds
into an actual new drug to treat advanced prostate cancer.