For Immediate Release
Contact: info@globalcancertechnology.com
GLOBAL CANCER TECHNOLOGY REPORTS NEW PROGRESS OF PI3 KINASE INHIBITOR PROGRAM IN DIFFUSE INTRINSIC PONTINE GLIOMA
DATA SHOWS GCT-007 TO BE COMPARABLE TO PAXALISIB IN INITIAL PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES
San Diego, CA, November 30, 2023 – Global Cancer Technology, Inc. announced today that it has received unpublished pre-clinical data from its collaborators at the University of Newcastle (Australia) for the very serious childhood brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). The studies, performed under the direction of Dr. Matt Dun, compared the effective inhibitor concentration (IC50) of the Company’s PI3K inhibitor, GCT-007, with Paxalisib. The studies used cells derived from human childhood DIPG tumors to determine the drug concentrations needed to achieve the IC50, the most widely used and informative measure of a drug’s efficacy.
GCT-007 is a small molecule PI3K inhibitor, similar to Paxalisib, but with properties that are expected to make it more effective when used in combination with immunotherapies than PI3 Kinase inhibitors used alone. Global Cancer Technology has been developing the drug as a potential treatment for glioblastoma, for which Paxalisib is currently in clinical testing. This work expands the potential utility of the inhibitor to DIPG, a deadly form of childhood brain tumors with, as yet, no approved treatments.
“The results we received from our collaborator are quite promising in showing that the dose of GCT-007 needed to arrest the growth of DIPG cells in culture is very similar to Paxalisib and we are encouraged by these findings”. said M. Karen Newell Rogers, PhD, Chief Scientific Consultant for Global Cancer Technology and a Professor and Immunologist at Texas A&M University.
“We are highly impressed with the initial results that GCT-007 has achieved in our comparison studies with Paxalisib” noted Dr. Matt Dun, Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Research at the University of Newcastle. “We anticipate further positive test results in animal studies that we will be conducting at our lab” Dr. Dun further stated.
“This is important preclinical progress for GCT-007 as we approach entering a phase I glioblastoma trial”, commented John Clark, CEO of Global Cancer Technology. “Seeing our drug compound demonstrate comparable results to Paxalisib, which is entering a phase III clinical trial, reduces the risk that many investors perceive when analyzing emerging companies with a promising drug entering a phase I clinical trial. Additionally, these data suggest there is opportunity to expand the indication for use to pediatric oncology, a significantly underserved market” Mr. Clark further added.
About DIPG
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a brain tumor that typically diagnosed in children ages 5-9 but can occur at any age in childhood. It is a highly aggressive and difficult to treat tumor that occurs in an area of the brainstem (the lowest, stem-like part of the brain) called the pons, which controls many of the body’s most vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. Because of its location in the brain and how rapidly it progresses, DIPG is considered a “high grade” malignant brain tumor. DIPG accounts for 10 percent of all childhood central nervous system tumors with approximately 300 children in the U.S. diagnosed with DIPG each year.
Standard of care today consists of radiation therapy and experimental chemotherapy as there are no approved drugs for the treatment of DIPG.
About Global Cancer Technology
Global Cancer Technology is a pre-clinical stage biopharma company developing a small molecule PI3K inhibitor for glioblastoma and drug resistant breast cancer and soon planning to enter a phase I clinical trial for glioblastoma.
Statements in this news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1993 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements may involve various risks and uncertainties, some of which may be discussed in the Company’s most recent shareholder letter. There is no assurance any new products can be cleared for sale by the FDA or successfully commercialized.
