The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Planegg, Germany-based Eisbach Bio GmbH announced a research collaboration on Jan. 19 dedicated to discovering and developing precision oncology drugs that target synthetic lethal engines.
Synthetic lethality is a phenomenon in which cancer cells containing mutations in certain pathways are hypersensitive to drugs that target related pathways. The two systems will jointly identify these targets and develop small-molecule therapies that are able to shut off specific epigenetic processes.
"Our platform identifies the unique activation mechanisms of molecular machines essential for cancer cell growth," said Andreas Ladurner, PhD, chief scientific officer at Eisbach Bio. "With this insight, we are able to develop targeted drugs that selectively interfere with the ignition of the engines that tumor cells have come to rely upon. These drugs are safe and selective by design."