New license to kill

29 March

Australian biotech company Patrys Limited has acquired a worldwide license to develop and commercialise potential anti-cancer agents discovered at Yale University.

The novel anti-DNA antibody platform was acquired through a 'scrip aquisition' of Nucleus Therapeutics Pty Ltd (Nucleus), which in a tranched transaction will ultimately provide the vendors, including Yale University, with 14.36% of Patrys’ issued capital.

The lead candidates licensed from Yale are two autoantibodies that have the capacity to penetrate cancer cell nuclei and kill DNA repair-deficient cancer cells. The mechanisms of action of the two agents indicates advantages over agents that inhibit the poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP), which is an enzyme involved in the repair of breaks in single stranded DNA, and which is the target of current anti-cancer drug developments.

The Yale autoantibodies, which are at present at preclinical stage, are able to inhibit both single and double-stranded DNA repair pathways and cause accumulation of DNA damage in cancer cells. This suggests they could potentially be used against a range of cancers, including some rare diseases like glioblastoma.

The scrip aquisition of Nucleus Therapeutics involves three potential tranches settled in Patrys shares with a combined value of up to $720,000. They will be triggered by the completion of a range of milestones, which include:

• The first milestone has been achieved, and requires the issue of Patrys shares to satisfy the first tranche payment of A$360,000 to the vendors.
• The second tranche will be triggered by the granting of specified patents associated with the Yale technology, and will result in the issue of Patrys shares to satisfy the second tranche payment of A$180,000.
• The final tranche, triggered upon the first dosing of a patient in a phase 1 clinical trial will also result in the issue of Patrys shares to satisfy the final tranche payment of A$180,000.