Professor Steve Jackson, MISSION Therapeutics CSO and Professor of Biology, Head of Cancer Research UK laboratories at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, will be giving the 22nd Raymond and Beverly Sackler distinguished lecture on the 11th of June in Leeds and on the 25th of June in Cambridge. The title of the lecture is ‘Cellular responses to DNA damage:mechanistic insights and new cancer therapies’.
Cambridge UK, 20 April 2015 – MISSION Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of modulators of the deubiquitylating (DUB) enzyme family for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, today presents a poster at AACR entitled “Discovery of highly selective UCHL1 inhibitors with in vivo pre-clinical anti-tumour activity”.
UCHL1 is a prototypical oncogene that selectively drives proliferation in many tumour types including multiple myeloma and lung cancer. UCHL1 depletion leads to the selective killing of a number of tumours whose proliferation is driven by UCHL1. Validation of DUB targets like UCHL1 exemplifies the rationale for developing inhibitors of the ubiquitin pathways to target a broad range of cancers with defined genetic abnormalities, or resistance to standard-of-care modalities. Using its integrated drug discovery platform combining unique biochemical, cellular, biophysical and structural assays,MISSION has identified and optimised potent and selective small molecule, active site inhibitors of UCHL1. These inhibitors recapitulate UCHL1 target biology and exhibit in vitro target engagement in proprietary cellular assays. Further lead optimisation has generated compounds with drug-like properties that demonstrate efficacy in disease models. Cumulatively, the data support not only the potential further pre-clinical development of UCHL1 compounds but also the tractability of a broader range of DUBs to pharmacologic intervention, with the potential to reach a diversity of cancers comprising different genetic signatures.
Xavier Jacq, Vice President Biology at MISSION, commented: “We are delighted to share our recent progress in the development of first-in-class selective UCHL1 inhibitors targeting difficult to treat cancers. The advances presented, underpin MISSION’s ability to identify small molecule leads of a hitherto difficult enzyme class. Surmounting the key challenges of targeting DUBs, we have paved the way for the timely development of inhibitors of several DUBs and the generation of a wholly new structural class of anti-cancer agents”.
About MISSION Therapeutics
Founded in 2011, MISSION Therapeutics builds on the research of Professor Steve Jackson FRS, who holds the Frederick James Quick Chair of Biology at the University of Cambridge, by exploiting the new and extensive research emerging on the ubiquitin pathways that control cellular responses to DNA damage.
MISSION has established a broad platform of technologies for the discovery and preclinical development of first-in-class modulators of ubiquitin pathway enzymes involved in cancer and other diseases. The Company is developing drugs to inhibit the proliferation of tumour cells, exploiting certain properties of specific DUBs, such as their oncogene status or association with synthetic lethality, the latter now a clinically-proven mechanism for selectively killing tumour cells.
The Company has received £27 million in venture capital from a blue chip syndicate comprising institutional and corporate investors (Sofinnova Partners, Imperial Innovations, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments) and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, south of Cambridge.
CONTACT:
MISSION Therapeutics Ltd
Dr Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0)1223 497197
Email: enquiries@missiontherapeutics.com
Instinctif Partners
Tim Watson
+44 (0)20 7866 7861
Email: missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com
Recognition of outstanding progress in hitherto challenging therapeutic target area
Cambridge UK, 20 March 2015 – MISSION Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of modulators of the deubiquitylating (DUB) enzyme family for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, today announces that it has won the new Life Science Innovation Award at the 25th Anniversary Business Weekly Awards ceremony.
The award was accepted by Professor Steve Jackson, CSO at MISSION, at an awards dinner at Queen’s College, Cambridge on behalf of the Company, which was judged to have done most in the region to further the cause of life science discovery for the benefit of human healthcare. AstraZeneca and MedImmune, as sponsors of the Award, spearheaded the judging for the category, with AZ dealmaker, Shaun Grady, and MedImmune’s site leader in Cambridge, Jane Osbourn, as the judges.
The Business Weekly Awards attracts entries from across the East of England and is the longest-running B2B competition in the UK. Now in its 25th year, the Awards pride themselves on early identification of world-leading businesses. To mark the 25th anniversary, the awards categories were finessed to reflect the expansion of the region since the awards began, with eight award categories “up for grabs” including Start-up of the Year, International Trade Champion and Wireless Innovation.
Commenting on the award, CEO Anker Lundemose said: “To receive recognition from one’s peers is hugely gratifying. It is a credit to the team at MISSION that they have developed a highly promising pipeline of drug candidates in recent years, not just in our primary area of focus, cancer, but also a wider range of indications. Having recently joined the team, I am personally excited to be playing a lead role in advancing key assets from MISSION’s pipeline into the clinic, independently and through selective partnering.”
About MISSION Therapeutics
Founded in 2011, MISSION Therapeutics builds on the research of Professor Steve Jackson FRS, who holds the Frederick James Quick Chair of Biology at the University of Cambridge, by exploiting the new and extensive research emerging on the ubiquitin pathways that control cellular responses to DNA damage.
MISSION has established a broad platform of technologies for the discovery and preclinical development of first-in-class modulators of ubiquitin pathway enzymes involved in cancer and other diseases. The Company is developing drugs to inhibit the proliferation of tumour cells, exploiting certain properties of specific DUBs, such as their oncogene status or association with synthetic lethality, the latter now a clinically-proven mechanism for selectively killing tumour cells.
The Company has received £27 million in venture capital from a blue chip syndicate comprising institutional and corporate investors (Sofinnova Partners, Imperial Innovations, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments) and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, south of Cambridge.
CONTACT:
MISSION Therapeutics Ltd
Dr Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0)1223 497197
Email: enquiries@missiontherapeutics.com
Instinctif Partners
Tim Watson
+44 (0)20 7866 7861
Email: missiontherapeutics
Appointment highlights scope and productivity of drug discovery platform
Cambridge UK, 16 March 2015 – MISSION Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of modulators of the deubiquitylating (DUB) enzyme family for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announces the appointment of Paul Wallace PhD as Chief Business Officer.
Dr Wallace joins MISSION to formulate future business strategy at a time when the Company’s pipeline has matured to the point where strategic options such as development partnerships are ready to be explored. Having worked in business development roles within drug discovery companies for nearly 20 years, Dr Wallace was most recently Executive Vice President and Head of Business Development at Medivir AB, where he was also a member of the Executive Management Team responsible for strategic and operational leadership, R&D portfolio management and investment planning. During this time he was central to the execution of more than 25 partnership deals, 8 products were taken into clinical development, 2 drugs were launched and Medivir transitioned into a profitable pharmaceutical company. Prior to his roles in business development Dr Wallace had a career in pharmaceutical research and undertook his PhD and post-doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge.
Anker Lundemose, MISSION Chief Executive Officer commented: “With MISSION currently embarking on the preclinical development of its lead molecules, Paul’s extensive business development experience will be invaluable in helping us find the right strategic partnerships to fully realise the potential of these assets. Our core focus is cancer, but our platform discovery approach has yielded highly promising molecules for other indications, such as Parkinson’s disease. We see partnering as an attractive option for taking these non-core projects forward.”
Paul Wallace responded: “I am delighted to be joining the MISSION team at a time when the commercialisation of certain of its assets is an increasingly promising prospect. The Company’s progress in unlocking successive DUB targets to potent and selective small molecule inhibitors positions MISSION for entering partnership transactions outside its proprietary oncology programs. The diversity of assets created is testimony to the rigour of MISSION’s screening platform in this critically important, but hitherto difficult, area of drug discovery”.
About MISSION Therapeutics
Founded in 2011, MISSION Therapeutics builds on the research of Professor Steve Jackson FRS, who holds the Frederick James Quick Chair of Biology at the University of Cambridge, by exploiting the new and extensive research emerging on the ubiquitin pathways that control cellular responses to DNA damage.
MISSION has established a broad platform of technologies for the discovery and preclinical development of first-in-class modulators of ubiquitin pathway enzymes involved in cancer and other diseases. The Company is developing drugs to inhibit the proliferation of tumour cells, exploiting certain properties of specific DUBs, such as their oncogene status or association with synthetic lethality, the latter now a clinically-proven mechanism for selectively killing tumour cells.
The Company has received £27 million in venture capital from a blue chip syndicate comprising institutional and corporate investors (Sofinnova Partners, Imperial Innovations, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments) and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, south of Cambridge.
CONTACT:
MISSION Therapeutics Ltd
Dr Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0)1223 497197
Email: enquiries@missiontherapeutics.com
Instinctif Partners
Tim Watson
+44 (0)20 7866 7861
Email: missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com
Appointment strengthens UK drug discovery team for transformational change.
Cambridge, UK – 9 January 2015 – MISSION Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of modulators of the deubiquitylating (DUB) enzyme family for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announces the appointment of Dr Anker Lundemose MD PhD as Chief Executive Officer.
Dr Lundemose brings extensive experience to MISSION at a pivotal stage in the Company’s evolution, as it transitions from discovery to development. In a biopharma career spanning over two and a half decades, he was most recently CEO of Norwegian vaccine company Bionor Pharma ASA, and previously co-founder and CEO of Prosidion, the UK spin-out of OSI Pharmaceuticals’ diabetes and obesity assets, subsequently reversed into OSI. The MISSION appointment constitutes Dr Lundemose’s fourth CEO position. As a CEO, Executive Vice President, co-founder and/or board member, he has been involved in a total of six biotech exits/IPOs.
Michael Moore, MISSION Executive Chairman, commented: “On behalf of the board and management I am delighted to welcome Anker at this exciting time for the Company, as it embarks on the preclinical development of its lead molecules. His extensive drug translational and business development experience across several therapeutic areas, among his other corporate credentials, will catalyze our transition from discovery to development and maximise the commercial horizons of the Company.”
Anker Lundemose commented: “I am thrilled to be joining MISSION at this transitional stage of the Company’s development. MISSION clearly has the opportunity to become the world’s premier DUB R&D company given the world-class standing of its science, the track record of its management and the vision of its investor syndicate. I look forward to working with management and investors alike to build on the asset value already created by the MISSION team.”
– ENDS –
Notes To Editors
About MISSION Therapeutics
Founded in 2011, MISSION Therapeutics builds on the research of Professor Steve Jackson FRS, who holds the Frederick James Quick Chair of Biology at the University of Cambridge, by exploiting the new and extensive research emerging on the ubiquitin pathways that control cellular responses to DNA damage.
MISSION has established a broad platform of technologies for the discovery and preclinical development of first-in-class modulators of ubiquitin pathway enzymes involved in cancer and other diseases. The Company is developing drugs to inhibit the proliferation of tumour cells, exploiting certain properties of specific DUBs, such as their oncogene status or association with synthetic lethality, the latter now a clinically-proven mechanism for selectively killing tumour cells.
The Company has received £27 million in venture capital from a blue chip syndicate comprising institutional and corporate investors (Sofinnova Partners, Imperial Innovations, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments) and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, south of Cambridge.
MISSION was assisted in the recruitment of Dr Lundemose by Russell Reynolds Associates
Issued for and on behalf of MISSION Therapeutics by Instinctif Partners.
For more information please contact:
MISSION Therapeutics Ltd
Dr Michael Moore, Executive Chairman
+44(0)7909 090887
Dr Niall Martin, Chief Operating Officer
+44(0)1223 497451
Email: enquiries@missiontherapeutics.com
Instinctif Partners
Tim Watson
+44(0)20 7866 7861
Email: MissionTherapeutics@instinctif.com
MISSION THERAPEUTICS
The Glenn Berge Building
Babraham Research Campus
Babraham
Cambridge
CB22 3FH
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1223 607 340
E: info@missiontherapeutics.com
