Noxopharm advances Chroma drug platform to target glioblastoma and leukaemia

Noxopharm (ASX: NOX) has made ‘substantial progress’ with its Chroma technology platform, reporting encouraging brain cancer results and early work on leukaemia.

The Chroma drug development program focuses on generating first-in-class novel cancer treatment options in areas of substantial unmet need to create future commercial opportunities for the company.

Glioblastoma – a lethal and incurable disease with limited treatment options that accounts for 66% of all Australian brain cancer diagnoses and has a median survival time of 15 months after diagnosis – is one such area, with a global market worth around US$2.9 billion in 2022 and forecast to grow at an annual rate of 8.8%.

Research grant

Noxopharm and the University of South Australia received a $100,000 grant from cancer research organisation Tour de Cure in April to conduct pre-clinical work on CRO-70 and CRO-71, drugs developed on the Chroma platform that have since been tested on an extensive biobank of patient-derived tumour explant organoids (GBOs), a state-of-the-art glioblastoma model established by researchers at the university’s Centre for Cancer Biology.

GBOs are generated from tumours surgically excised from actual brain cancer patients, maintaining the three-dimensional architecture and complex microenvironment composition of human brain tumours and providing a realistic environment for drug testing.

Noxopharm reported that the drugs had significantly reduced the growth of these glioblastoma explants by an average in excess of of 75% compared to untreated controls, with preliminary analysis also showing each could cross the blood-brain barrier, an important protective filter for the brain that most drugs do not manage to penetrate.

Early animal studies resulted in a favourable safety and toxicity profile for both drugs that will be further investigated over the coming months.

Gene mutation

Noxopharm has also identified a novel drug to target a gene mutation found in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) that arises during current treatment options and becomes resistant to standard-of-care drugs.

There is a significant need to develop new treatments for AML, particularly those targeting cancerous leukaemic cells while sparing non-cancerous healthy cells.

Early findings show the Chroma candidate can overcome drug resistance and help prevent the cancer from returning aggressively after initial treatment.

AML is a type of blood cancer that represents around 40% of all new adult-onset leukaemias in Australia and was the leading cause of leukaemia-related deaths in 2020.

It has a median overall survival rate of around 25% five years after diagnosis and an incidence rate of approximately 20 people per 100,000 in Australians over 65 years of age.