Syndax and Colorado team up to treat cancer

Syndax Pharmaceutical has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of Colorado (CU) to commercialise and market a lung cancer treatment developed at the CU School of Medicine.

The treatment targets non-small-cell lung carncinoma (NSCLC), which makes up nearly 80% of lung cancers. NSCLCs are much more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation as opposed to other lung cancers.

The CU research group, working in collaboration with Syndax, have identified drug treatments that can identify and overcome NSCLC resistance.

Paul Bunn, MD, professor of medical oncology at the CU medical school and principal investigator of the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Lung Cancer,said: “Cancer cells that remain most similar to normal lung lining (epithelial) cells are most likely to benefit from the combined therapy, and these most susceptible cells can be identified with an antibody to a protein on the cells called E-cadherin. Entinostat causes an even higher expression of E-cadherin, and this is associated with increased sensitivity to oral anti-EGFR drugs.”