Accent Therapeutics to Present Data Supporting DHX9 and KIF18A as Compelling Therapeutic Targets at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024
Robert A. Copeland, Chief Scientific Officer, to provide major symposium presentation on RNA-modifying enzyme inhibitors as precision cancer therapeutics
Additional posters and presentations confirm progress of lead programs, including Accent’s first-in-class DHX9 inhibitor and best-in-class KIF18A inhibitor program
LEXINGTON, Mass., March 21, 2024 – Accent Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of small molecule precision cancer therapies, today announced four upcoming presentations and posters at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, taking place April 5-10 in San Diego, California.
The oral symposium presentations will speak to the promise of RNA-modifying enzyme inhibitors as precision cancer therapeutics, and more specifically detail the rationale for DHX9 inhibition as a novel treatment modality for patients with BRCA1/2 loss-of-function across multiple tumor types, including breast cancer, as well as dMMR/MSI-H tumors, including colorectal, gastric and endometrial cancers. Posters will present data supporting inhibition of KIF18A in chromosomally instable tumors and induction of circBRIP1 RNA as a biomarker for DHX9 inhibition.
Details for the presentations and posters are as follows:
Major Symposium Presentation Title: Small molecule inhibitors of RNA modifying enzymes as precision cancer therapeutics
- Presentation Number: SY11-02
- Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 10:40 AM – 10:55 AM PT
- Location: Room 29 - Upper Level
- Presenter: Robert Copeland, Ph.D.
Mini Symposium Presentation Title: DHX9 inhibition as a novel therapeutic for cancer with loss-of-function mutations in DNA damage repair genes BRCA1 and BRCA2
- Abstract Number: 3908
- Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 2:50 PM – 3:05 PM PT
- Location: Ballroom 6 DE - Upper Level
- Presenter: Jennifer Castro
Poster Title: Inhibition of KIF18A leads to mitotic arrest and robust anti-tumor activity in chromosomally instable tumors
- Abstract Number: 3337
- Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM PT
- Location: Poster Section 28
- Poster Board Number: 25
- Presenter: Maureen Lynes, Ph.D.
Poster Title: circBRIP1 RNA as a non-invasive target engagement pharmacodynamic biomarker for DHX9 inhibition
- Abstract Number: 520
- Session Date and Time: Sunday, April 7, 2024, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM PT
- Location: Poster Section 21
- Poster Board Number: 17
- Presenter: David Brennen
About DHX9
Accent’s lead program is a first-in-class DHX9 inhibitor with the potential to address high unmet need indications not adequately served by existing therapies, including tumors with BRCA loss of function (breast, ovarian), mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) cancers (colorectal, endometrial, gastric) and additional undisclosed cancer types representing large patient populations. DHX9 is a DNA/RNA helicase that has been reported to play important roles in replication, transcription, translation, RNA splicing, RNA processing, and maintenance of genomic stability. Hence, this enzyme represents a compelling novel oncology target as inhibition of DHX9 exploits key tumor vulnerabilities, resulting in cancer-specific death. Accent is currently conducting IND-enabling studies evaluating its DHX9 inhibitor.
About KIF18A
Accent’s second lead program is a potential best-in-class inhibitor for KIF18A which may address a large patient population across several cancer indications, including ovarian and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). KIF18A is a mitotic kinesin motor protein critical for cell division in select tumors with chromosomal instability. A subset of tumor cells with an abnormal number of chromosomes (aneuploid) are reliant on KIF18A and show rapid cell killing in vitro and in vivo upon KIF18A inhibitor treatment, while cells with normal numbers of chromosomes (euploid) are unaffected. Accent is planning to initiate IND-enabling studies for KIF18A in the first half of 2024.
About Accent Therapeutics
Accent Therapeutics is pioneering a new class of small molecule precision cancer therapies targeting critical intracellular dependencies that span multiple types of cancer. Building upon industry-leading expertise in RNA-modifying proteins (RMPs) and the systematic mapping of both the RMP space and adjacent high-value areas for drug discovery, the company is building a flexible model that allows for a diversity of approaches to developing potentially transformative biomarker-driven cancer medicines. Accent’s therapies are designed for both novel and known, but suboptimally-addressed, high-impact oncology targets with the potential to benefit large patient populations with significant unmet need. For more information on Accent’s mission to translate extraordinary science into life-changing therapeutics for patients living with cancer, visit www.accenttx.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
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Media Contact
Sarah O’Connell, Verge Scientific Communications