Novogen candidate kills brain cancer stem cells

Drug development company Novogen (ASX:NRT) has announced the results of a study in which one of its lead candidate products, TRXE-009, successfully killed a library of patient-derived brain cancer cells.

In a study conducted by The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, cell cultures were taken from subjects with glioblastoma multiform (GBM) and cultured under conditions that promote cancer stem cell growth. These stem-like cancer cells are believed to be responsible for chemotherapy resistance and tumour recurrence.

All cancer cells represented in the library, which were derived from both adult and paediatric patients, responded to TRXE-009 at clinically relevant doses. This suggests a strong therapeutical potential, as killing the highly resistant cancer stem cells is considered a fundamental requirement to successfully treating GBM.

Other preclinical studies have found that TRXE-009 is highly cytotoxic of chemo-resistant paediatric brain cancers as well as neutral and neural crest-derived tumours. The drug has also demonstrated success against melanoma cells, indicating a possible link between brain cancer and melanoma. These studies suggest the candidate preferentially targets tumours with a common embryonic origin in neural/neural crest cells.

Novogen next hopes to confirm TRXE-009’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, a key filtering mechanism that effectively blocks the majority of chemotherapy drugs from reaching brain tissue. The company is also collaborating with Feinstein to investigate alternative means of delivering the drug to the brain, including direct injection into the brain cancer and the use of lipid brain-targeting particles injected intravenously.

Novogen (ASX:NRT) shares were trading 73.07% higher at $0.225 as of around 11.30 am on Wednesday.

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