Theragnostics Inc. said it had received intellectual property rights from AstraZeneca PLC to develop radionuclide-labeled PARPi therapies for the diagnosis of cancer.
PARPi, short for poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors, are a class of medicines that block the PARP enzyme that cancer cells use to repair their damaged DNA. Lynparza, which is indicated for ovarian cancer, is one of AstraZeneca's PARP inhibitors.
Theragnostics, a Boston-based developer of precision medicines for cancer, wants to add its own spin to PARPi drug molecules by adding a radioactive atom to create a radionuclide PARPi, or rPARPi. These can be used to image PARP in a cancer patient for diagnostic purposes or to deliver a therapeutic dose of radiation into tumor cells to avoid damage to healthy cells and associated side effects with standard treatments.
Theragnostics said its agreement with AstraZeneca provides it with an option to exclusively develop rPARPi treatments that can be commercialized around the world.
PARP inhibitors could be applicable in up to 40% of tumors with varying DNA damage response associated mutations or dependencies and may have additional effectiveness when combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
