Cantex Intends to Repurpose Failed Alzheimer’s Drug for Cancer Indications

 

Florida-based Cantex Pharmaceuticals forged a licensing deal with vTv Therapeutics for a drug that had initially been developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Cantex intends to repurpose the drug for multiple indications in cancer.

N.C.-based vTv had been developing azeliragon, rally active, small molecule, antagonist of the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Like so many other medications developed for Alzheimer’s, azeliragon ultimately failed to hit the mark in a Phase III study. 

However, the company has continued to assess the drug due to evidence suggesting that RAGE-ligand interactions lead to sustained inflammatory states that play a role in chronic diseases. Cantex intends to evaluate the vTv drug, which that company discovered through its proprietary drug discovery platform TTP Translational Technology, as a potential treatment for several cancer-related issues, Stephen Marcus, president and chief executive officer said this morning. 

In a statement made earlier, Marcus said RAGE had been implicated in “several serious cancer complications” that are associated with increased mortality, as well as a decreased quality of life.

“Our team has deep expertise and a successful track record in transforming known drugs into innovative products with large clinical and commercial potential. As such, the opportunity to develop azeliragon, a phase 2-ready oral medication administered once daily, which has demonstrated a good safety profile in several Alzheimer’s disease trials, is an excellent fit for Cantex,” Marcus said in a statement. 

“We intend to move rapidly to prepare for clinical trials assessing the potential of azeliragon for the treatment of a number of complications associated with cancer,” he said. 

In their announcement, the companies did not disclose the financial terms of the licensing agreement. Cantex will be responsible for the development and commercialization of azeliragon, and the companies will allocate downstream profits under a tiered arrangement. 

Steve Holcombem president and CEO of vTv Therapeutics, said Cantex is the right partner to further the development of azeliragon in “new therapeutic indications.” He said Cantex has deep experience in clinical development and a proven capability to repurpose drug candidates for new indications. Holcombe added that RAGE is an attractive target in multiple disorders. 

For vTv, the licensing deal comes two months after the company earned Breakthrough Therapy Designation for TTP399, a novel, oral, investigational once-daily glucokinase activator, as an adjunctive therapy to insulin for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The designation granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was supported by positive results from a Phase II study that showed treatment with TTP399 resulted in a statistically significant improvement in HbA1c. The medication also showed a 40% decrease in the frequency of severe and symptomatic hypoglycemia.