$1.25 million awarded to progress University of Queensland-developed prostate cancer drug

Development of a new drug based on research at The University of Queensland, targeting advanced and therapy-resistant prostate cancer, has been awarded $1.25 million from the US-based Critical Path Institute’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator.

According to a statement from UQ on Tuesday, the drug named QED-203 has its origins in research by Professor Greg Monteith from the university’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. 

It is being developed by Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI), the small molecule drug discovery arm of UniQuest (UQ’s technology translation company.)

The drug’s “mode of action” led the QEDDI team to discover that its target was relevant for treating patients with advanced disease, according to UQ’s release. Approximately 280,000 cases of prostate cancer each year become advanced disease, which is also known as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC.)

Monteith’s team’s first work on this target and its importance in cancer progression began nearly 15 years ago.

“It is very exciting to have worked with QEDDI scientists who have developed this first-in-class drug that now has the potential to better treat prostate cancers that have become resistant to current therapies,” added Monteith.

QEDDI’s head, Dr Brian Dymock, said the new $1.25 million in funding “will enable us to conduct key drug manufacturing and safety studies, bringing QED-203 significantly closer to becoming a novel therapeutic option for patients who would otherwise have very limited treatment options.”

The funding will support “critical preclinical studies, process optimisation, drug substance manufacturing and safety studies” ahead of a potential move into human clinical trials.

According to its website, the Arizona-based Critical Path Institute’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRxA) is “a global drug discovery and development program focused on supporting academic scientists in defining optimal strategies for advancing new, cutting-edge therapeutics from the lab to patients.”

Picture: QEDDI Drug Discovery Team Leader Dr Kim Beaumont, Head of QEDDI Brian Dymock, and Medicinal Chemistry Team Leader Dr Rebecca Pouwer (credit UQ)