Life sciences veteran Thomas Brock is helming a new therapeutic pipeline at Notable Labs, a company that has primarily been known for its oncology-testing services.
Life sciences veteran Thomas Bock is helming a new therapeutic pipeline at Notable Labs, primarily known for its oncology testing services. The new therapeutics business, which includes a licensed acute myeloid leukemia candidate, aims at precision medicine in a unique manner.
Notable secured worldwide development and commercial rights to volasertib, a Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK-1) inhibitor aimed at AML. PLK-1 overexpression is present in a wide range of both solid tumors and hematological cancers. The company licensed the asset from Boston-based Oncoheroes Bioscience. Notable Labs intends to leverage its high-fidelity Predictive Precision Medicines Platform to “identify and select volasertib-responsive patients prior to their treatment.” According to the company, this will ultimately fast-track volasertib’s clinical development in this patient population.
Chief Executive Officer Thomas Bock, who has previously led executive teams at Novartis Oncology, Celgene, Alexion, and HeritX, said volasertib represents a milestone in Notable’s mission to develop and deliver life-changing therapies and herald the era of predictive precision medicine.
“We targeted and licensed volasertib because of its compelling performance on our Predictive Precision Medicine Platform and as an important addition to our growing clinical pipeline. We plan to fast-track volasertib’s development with Phase II/III clinical trials in AML and other cancers, selectively enrolling patients who are predicted to respond.”
While under the developmental umbrella of Oncoheroes, volasertib was granted Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a potential treatment for pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a soft tissue sarcoma. In its announcement this morning, Oncoheroes said it is planning to take volasertib into the clinic with a Phase Ib/II clinical trial for the treatment of RMS.
Notable Labs aims to leverage its predictive precision medicines platform to accelerate clinical trial timelines and improve patient outcomes. In its announcement, Notable noted that precision medicine has harnessed biomarkers and genetic screening to improve the developmental success of a therapeutic. While that has worked, the company said the approach is still ineffective at best. Notable’s platform draws on its testing background and partners it with sophisticated software, engineering, and machine learning to generate more accurate results. Notable said its approach was backed by a Stanford University study that showed a 92% accuracy in predicting patient response.
Bock said the platform was established across a broad spectrum of drug classes and cancers. Volasertib is one of many compelling opportunities the company sees. He anticipates additional in-licensing and partnership opportunities for other oncology therapeutics.
“We are thrilled to be at the forefront in the field of predictive precision medicines and advance with the sense of urgency that patients with life-threatening conditions deserve,” Bock said.
