Oceanyx’s first two lead candidates, largazole and apratoxin S4, that selectively target Class I HDACs and specific targets in the cotranslational translocation pathway, respectively, are indicated for the treatment of cancer, angiogenic and bone disorders and/or neurodegenerative diseases.
In preclinical studies, largazole and apratoxin S4 have shown excellent activity in colon cancer models and largazole has demonstrated excellent osteogenic, anti-fibrotic and anti-angiogenic activity in animal models. In the United States there are over 1.1 million colorectal cancer patients and it is estimated that each year, an additional 141,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed.
Each year, nearly 50,000 patients die due to colorectal cancer and it remains a large unmet or underserved clinical need. Largazole and/or some of its analogs can also be developed for other indications such as bone, neurodegenerative and/or fibrosis, that individually or collectively, represent multi-billion dollar opportunities.
Apratoxin lead candidates (S4 or S8) have demonstrated excellent activities in animal models of colorectal cancer and are being explored in other animal models. The potent nature of this chemical series coupled with its novel mechanism of action in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress space, represents unique opportunities for developing these molecules as either stand-alone therapeutic agents or through using antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeted approaches.
