Penetrium Bioscience Inc. studies 'false resistance' in lung and ovarian cancer organoids

[Financial News] Research is underway to address the problem where targeted anticancer drugs, which directly attack cancer cells, are not sufficiently delivered due to physical barriers surrounding tumors. Penetrium Bioscience Inc. is identifying the causes of 'false resistance' by comparing drugs that act on cancer cells and the tumor environment, respectively.
On the 9th, Penetrium Bioscience Inc. announced the results of a preliminary study comparing the targeted anticancer drug 'Daraxonrasib' with its candidate 'Penetrium' using patient-derived lung and ovarian cancer organoids.
Organoids are three-dimensional cell models that recreate an environment similar to an actual tumor in the laboratory using a patient's tumor tissue. The research team isolated cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) found around tumors to compare the effects of the two drugs.
The study results showed that daraxonrasib directly attacked lung and ovarian cancer cells but showed no significant response to CAFs. In contrast, Penetrium exhibited a pattern of selectively eliminating CAFs without affecting the cancer cells themselves.
The company explained this by linking it to 'false resistance.' False resistance refers to a phenomenon where therapeutic efficacy is reduced not because the cancer cells themselves have developed resistance to the drug, but because the drug fails to reach the cancer cells sufficiently due to the microenvironment surrounding the tumor.
The stroma formed by CAFs and other factors surrounding the tumor can act as a barrier that hinders drug penetration. This means that if anticancer drugs fail to reach the concentration required to kill cancer cells, their therapeutic effect may be limited.
Penetrium Bioscience Inc. is presenting the potential for combination therapy that modulates the barrier surrounding the tumor with Penetrium, allowing existing targeted anticancer drugs to act more effectively on cancer cells.
Daraxonrasib, the subject of comparison, is an anticancer drug that targets the RAS signaling pathway involved in the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Penetrium Bioscience Inc. believes that combining a drug that directly attacks cancer cells with a drug that modulates the tumor microenvironment can enhance the response to existing treatments.
However, these results are from an early study utilizing organoids derived from lung and ovarian cancer patients. Further verification through clinical trials is required to confirm the efficacy of combination therapy in actual patients.
Penetrium Bioscience Inc. plans to disclose the results of a follow-up study on the combined use of the two drugs in an environment where cancer cells derived from lung and ovarian cancer patients were co-cultured with CAFs at a symposium to be held at InterContinental Grand Seoul Parnas on the 14th.
Jin Geun-woo, co-CEO of Penetrium Bioscience Inc., stated, "It is crucial to create an environment where targeted anticancer drugs can reach the inside of the tumor, in addition to attacking cancer cells," adding, "Based on this research, we will verify combination strategies to restore the therapeutic response to existing anticancer drugs."

[email protected] Jeong Sang-hee Reporter