Alchemia licenses CTx cancer drug candidates

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) has arranged to license two anticancer drug candidates originating from the Australian Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx).

The company will in-license two preclinical Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) inhibitors from Cancer Research Technology, one of CTx’s founders and main partners.

Under the deal, Alchemia will pay fees, milestone payments and royalties to in-license the drug candidates. Commercial terms have not been disclosed.

FAK plays a role in the development and spread of numerous malignancies including tumours, and FAK inhibitors have shown promise at disrupting tumour development and metastasis while reducing chemotherapy resistance.

“We are looking forward to evaluating these novel molecules and their effect on the tumour environment and cancer stem cells that are essential for the growth, persistence and reoccurrence of cancer,” Alchemia Chief Scientific Officer Tracey Brown commented.

“We plan to use our established oncology and cancer stem cell models to evaluate the potential clinical benefits of the drugs in vivo prior to initiating further IND-enabling studies.”

CTx recently secured a fresh $34 million grant for the next six years as part of the 16th funding round of the federal CRC program.

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) shares were trading 0.86% lower at $0.575 as of around 2 pm on Wednesday.