Rakovina Therapeutics Receives Funding to Accelerate Development of Novel Cancer Therapies

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSXV: RKV) (“the Company”), is pleased to announce that it is receiving advisory services and up to $122,865 in non-dilutive research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).

Funding will support Rakovina Therapeutics scientists in the development of assays and animal models for evaluation of the Company’s novel classes of DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of selecting one or more lead compounds for advancement to toxicology and/or Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies.

DNA damage response (DDR) involves a complex network of genes responsible for sensing and responding to DNA damage, encompassing specific machineries mediating DNA repair, cell cycle regulation, replication stress responses and cell death. Defects in the DDR give rise to genomic instability in cells leading to cancer formation, but also provides opportunities to treat cancer with targeted therapies that have little effect on normal, healthy cells. First-generation DDR inhibitors, known as PARP-inhibitors, have become integral in the treatment of certain types of breast, ovarian and other cancers and generated more than $5 billion in global sales in 2022. However, resistance to treatment can develop and the development of next-generation DDR inhibitors is a significant unmet medical need.

“We continue to be enthusiastic about lead candidates from our kt-3000 series dual PARP-HDAC inhibitors and data demonstrating activity against tumors that have become resistant to treatment with FDA-approved PARP inhibitors,” stated Prof. Mads Daugaard, Rakovina Therapeutics’ president and chief scientific officer. “We are grateful to NRC IRAP for their support in helping us advance this important research with the potential to improve patient outcomes across multiple tumor types. Specifically, this NCR IRAP project will expand our capacity to evaluate how our drug candidates behave in the body including how they reach their target tissues. We look forward to delivering more good news as we progress towards selecting the optimal candidate for advancement to human clinical trials.”

To learn more about Rakovina Therapeutics drug development pipeline, please visit: https://www.rakovinatherapeutics.com/.

About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. is focused on the development of new cancer treatments based on novel DNA-damage response technologies. The Company has established a pipeline of DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials and obtaining marketing approval for new cancer therapeutics from Health Canada, the United States Food and Drug Administration and similar international regulatory agencies. Further information may be found at www.rakovinatherapeutics.com.

Additional Information

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