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HOUSTON, Texas & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Genprex, Inc., a clinical stage gene therapy company, has entered a sponsored research agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center under which Genprex will sponsor a pre-clinical study, entitled “A Novel Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of Cancer Using a Combination of the Multifactorial Tumor Suppressor Gene TUSC2 and Immunotherapy,” to be conducted under the direction of Jack A. Roth, MD, FACS. TUSC2 is the active agent in Genprex’s investigational drug candidate Oncoprex.
 
According to Genprex’s website, “Our lead product candidate, Oncoprex, consists of a TUSC2 gene encapsulated in a positively charged nanovesicle made from lipid molecules with a positive electrical charge. Oncoprex is injected intravenously and can specifically target cancer cells, which generally have a negative electrical charge. Once Oncoprex is taken up into a cancer cell, the TUSC2 gene is expressed into a protein that is capable of restoring certain defective functions arising in the cancer cell. Oncoprex has a multimodal mechanism of action whereby it interrupts cell signaling pathways that cause replication and proliferation of cancer cells, re-establishes pathways for programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in cancer cells, and modulates the immune response against cancer cells. Oncoprex has also been shown to block mechanisms that create drug resistance.”
 
The study, which is built upon strong data from pre-clinical research conducted at MD Anderson, is intended to develop a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer using a combination of the multifactorial tumor suppressor gene TUSC2 and immunotherapy, including the immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD1 and/or anti CTLA-4. The study will include the identification of biomarkers to predict the response to TUSC2-immunotherapy combinations.
Under the agreement, MD Anderson will provide all necessary personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities and resources to perform the study, and Genprex will pay MD Anderson an amount equal to its expenditures and reasonable overhead in conducting the study in an amount of $2 million.
 
“This research program will evaluate the ability of TUSC2 gene therapy to synergistically enhance the effect and clinical utility of anti-PD1 and/or anti-CTLA-4 therapies,” said Rodney Varner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genprex. “Identifying biomarkers that can predict response rates for Oncoprex-immunotherapy combinations may allow us to explore the utility of this treatment regimen in a broader array of cancers.”
 
Researchers at MD Anderson reported data from preclinical research at the 2017 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, demonstrating that TUSC2 alone or in combination with checkpoint blockade (anti-PD-1 and/or anti-CTLA4) significantly prolonged mouse survival in a non-small cell lung cancer metastasis model compared to checkpoint blockade alone. The greatest increase in survival was seen with TUSC2 combined with checkpoint blockade. The treatment response was associated with high infiltration of natural killer (NK) cells and CD8 T cells, and low infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in the tumor microenvironment.
 
“While immunotherapies represent an important advance in treating cancer, even in highly immunogenic tumors, the majority of patients do not respond to checkpoint inhibition,” Varner added. “Combination therapies targeting multiple anti-cancer pathways represent a promising approach to achieving greater response rates, and may also allow the expanded use of immunotherapies in a larger population of cancer patients who are not currently candidates for these treatments.”

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