NeoCura Bio-Medical Technology, an RNA-based drug R&D company in China, and PhoreMost, a UK-based biopharma company, have announced an oncology drug discovery research collaboration.
As part of the collaboration, PhoreMost's Siteseeker phenotypic screening platform and NeoCura's full-process RNA drug design platform will be used to investigate the cellular delivery and efficacy of encoded targeted peptides. The research aims to inform and advance the development of anti-cancer therapies.
The Siteseeker platform is designed to identify therapeutic targets for any chosen disease setting and identify how to develop novel drugs to these targets. This has the potential to significantly increase the diversity of novel treatments for cancer and other unmet diseases, the company claims. Based on proprietary protein interference, or Proteini, technology, Siteseeker reportedly probes the entire proteome in a live cell environment for novel druggable targets linked to any chosen disease. This enables the systematic discovery of functionally active peptides which are directly linked to useful therapeutic applications. NeoCura’s RNA technology will significantly increase the expression efficiency of RNA cargo and improve its in vivo delivery to target tissues.
Dr Wang Yi, founder and CEO of NeoCura, said: "NeoCura is pleased to establish a collaborative partnership with PhoreMost. We are deeply impressed by PhoreMost's excellent protein interference technology platform and unique target mining capabilities. It is believed that with the leading RNA drug research and development capability of NeoCura and cutting-edge Siteseeker technology of PhoreMost, more therapeutic potential will be released in the field of research and development of RNA drugs, and the translational process of anti-cancer drugs will be greatly accelerated. Meanwhile, NeoCura also hopes to join hands with more industry leaders in the vigorous development of biomedicine in China.”
Dr Chris Torrance, CEO, PhoreMost, said: “This partnership demonstrates the versatility of PhoreMost’s Siteseeker platform, and the range of innovative drug discovery programs it can work within. NeoCura’s platform complements PhoreMost’s capabilities to unmask cryptic druggable sites across the entire human proteome. RNA delivery of novel therapeutics represents an exciting opportunity for PhoreMost as we aim to significantly increase the diversity and affordability of novel therapeutics for cancer and other unmet diseases.”
