Vidac hires Forschungsdock CRO for Phase IIb study of novel skin cancer drug
German trials contractor Forschungsdock CRO will run a Phase IIb study of a candidate skin cancer treatment for Vidac Pharma under a new contract.
The deal will see Forschungsdock work with Thomas Dirschka, head of CentroDerm, to test VDA-1102 in advanced actinic keratosis (AK), an early form of skin cancer. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sitrya, Israel-based Vidac named Forschungsdock as CRO last week, also revealing that the €600,000 raised from investors and management would be used to fund the study and the development of a second candidate, VDA-1275, currently in preclinical trials.
CEO Max Herzberg said, “I am thrilled by this show of confidence, which puts us in better shape to continue the development of our drugs in onco-dermatology and solid tumors.
“I want to thank our board, advisors, team, and shareholders for their support for our entirely new approach in oncology, with drugs that reverse the supercharged metabolism of cancer cells. We will continue apace with testing of our two therapeutic candidates, including the extremely promising VDA-1275.”
The CentroDerm institute in Wuppertal in western Germany focuses on dermatological research. Forschungsdock, which is headquartered in Rellingen near Dortmund, provides project and quality management services as well as clinical monitoring.
Mechanism of action
VDA-1102 disrupts the interaction between the hexokinase 2 (HK2) isozyme and the voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) in mitochondria. Cancer cells overexpress HK2, which catalyzes the first step of the glucose metabolism, fueling tumor growth.
Separately, VDA-1102 has shown promise for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, according to Vidac, which announced it has concluded a Phase IIa proof-of-concept trial and plans to report the results.
The US Patent and Trademark Office issued Vidac a patent protecting the mode of action in September in a decision Herzberg said would help the firm’s “efforts to bring an entirely new class of cancer treatments to market.”
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