Tiziana licenses anti-cancer stem cell agent from Cardiff University

Clinical-stage biotech company Tiziana has licensed a new anti-cancer stem cell agent, capable of targeting aggressive tumor-forming cells originating from the breast, pancreas, colon and prostate, from Cardiff University scientists in the UK.

The agent, OH14, is an inhibitor of c-FLIP, a known suppressor of apoptosis. It acts inside the cell by preventing the instructive cell death that occurs when a signal protein produced by neighboring cells attaches to the target cell’s surface. c-FLIP blocks the death signal from entering the cell. Suppression of apoptosis is a known driver of cancer cell proliferation, so by inhibiting suppression it should be possible for cell death to occur and cancer proliferation to be thwarted.

Tiziana will fund £50,000 ($76,000) per year for a research project at the university focused on building the structure activity relationships around OH14 and to improve the activity of this series of compounds. Tiziana will make milestone payments to the university up to around £3 million, and pay royalties on sales of any licensed products developed as a result of the project. Should certain milestones be achieved, Tiziana will also pay 1% of its enterprise value to the university, in the event of a trade sale of Tiziana to a third party.