EDGC Publishes Paper on Intractable Anticancer Drug Candidate in International Academic Journal

Proposed Treatment for Refractory Cancers Resistant to Targeted Therapies for Liver and Thyroid Cancer
From Disease Prediction to Early Treatment through Synergy of Genomic Analysis and New Drug Development

A paper published by EDGC (Eone Diagnomics Genome Center) was featured in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences on the 11th.

The paper, titled "Targeted Anticancer Sarcoplasmic/Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+-ATPase Inhibitors for Sorafenib-Resistant Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma," primarily demonstrates the therapeutic efficacy of a novel anticancer drug candidate for refractory thyroid cancer.

The study involved EDGC's New Drug Development Research Institute and Professor Ki-Chung Park's team from Yonsei University College of Medicine. EDGC developed two novel sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase inhibitors derived from cancer cells resistant to sorafenib, a targeted therapy for liver and thyroid cancers, and verified their therapeutic efficacy. The main function of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase is to transport calcium ions from the cytoplasm to the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and this study is considered the only case applying it as a treatment target for refractory papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Although thyroid cancer is generally known for a good prognosis, papillary thyroid carcinoma, which accounts for about 80% of thyroid cancers, develops resistance to anticancer drugs due to metastasis and recurrence. It shows poor prognosis with no response to targeted therapy, becoming a difficult-to-treat refractory cancer. The research team confirmed through genomic analysis of cells derived from patients with this refractory cancer that higher resistance to sorafenib correlates with higher expression of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase gene.

Applying the study compounds to refractory cancer cells with high sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase protein expression induces extracellular calcium ion influx and increases intracellular calcium concentration. It was confirmed that sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase inhibitors affect the death of refractory cancer cells. Tumor suppression efficacy was also verified through animal experiments.

By conducting efficacy evaluations on target patient-derived cancer cells, clinical relevance was enhanced. This differentiates the study from inappropriate nonclinical model efficacy evaluations, which are the biggest cause of clinical failure of anticancer drug candidates. It is also significant that the failure rate of lead compound discovery was greatly reduced through mechanism research based on genomic big data analysis.

Kim Yeon-jung, director of EDGC's New Drug Development Research Institute, stated, "We have proposed a new therapeutic strategy to treat refractory thyroid cancer resistant to sorafenib," adding, "Through follow-up research, we will achieve therapeutic innovation for refractory cancers that are difficult to treat with existing methods."

EDGC CEO Lee Min-seop emphasized, "We plan to advance our bio new drug pipeline based on the research results from EDGC's New Drug Development Research Institute," and added, "Through synergy between genomic analysis business and new drug development, we will realize the vision of providing integrated healthcare services ranging from disease prediction to early treatment."