Bridge Medicines and The Rockefeller University today announced an exclusive license agreement to develop novel inhibitors of ENL-YEATS for the treatment of acute leukemias such as Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and potentially solid tumors.
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NEW YORK, March 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridge Medicines and The Rockefeller University today announced an exclusive license agreement to develop novel inhibitors of ENL-YEATS for the treatment of acute leukemias such as Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and potentially solid tumors. ENL-YEATS is an epigenetic "reader" protein that emerged from breakthrough science conducted in the laboratory of Lasker Award winner C. David Allis, Ph.D. The work was led by scientist Liling Wan, Ph.D., who was a postdoctoral fellow in the Allis lab at the time. Dr. Allis is the Joy and Jack Fishman Professor, Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics; Dr. Wan was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology and Assistant Investigator of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Epigenetic pathways have been shown to regulate cancer cell proliferation and growth, which have recently proven to be successful drug targets. Drs. Wan and Allis found that ENL-YEATS was essential for leukemogenesis and leukemia maintenance by assuring transcription of several oncogenes, including MYC, a regulator gene. The researchers also discovered a role for ENL-YEATS in Wilms Tumor, a rare kidney cancer found in children, suggesting that ENL-YEATS may be a driver in tumor types beyond acute leukemias. The Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. (Tri-I TDI) advanced the pioneering discoveries from the Allis Laboratory into early-stage drug molecules. Tri-I TDI's mission is to work with innovative scientists at its founding institutions, The Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medicine, in a close collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, to accelerate the discovery of new drug molecules. For this ENL-YEATS program, the scientists at Tri-I TDI, in collaboration with Drs. Wan and Allis, were able to synthesize promising, patented, new molecules that may represent future new drug products. Bridge Medicines will further develop and advance these molecules through preclinical and clinical trials in an effort to bring a new treatment to patients. "The ENL-YEATS discovery is a major scientific advancement in the area of cancer treatment, and we are thrilled to bring this important program into our portfolio," said Bill Polvino, CEO of Bridge Medicines. "We are encouraged by the promising data developed by these premier academic scientists and look forward to rapidly accelerating the development of this program, in keeping with our mission of translating brilliant discoveries into innovative medicines." Dr. Allis added, "The ENL-YEATS program offers great promise and hope for patients with AML and Wilms Tumor. We are gratified to have Bridge Medicines partner with us in advancing this program and look forward to seeing it develop into a successful epigenetic therapy to combat these and potentially other diseases." About AML About Wilms Tumor About Tri-I TDI About Bridge Medicines Contact:
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