BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetaStat, Inc. (OTCQB: MTST), a precision medicine company developing novel anti-metastatic treatment solutions for patients with aggressive cancer, announced today positive results and the successful completion of the pilot research project with Celgene Corporation. In preclinical models of aggressive breast cancer, data showed cancer cell invasion and metastasis was reversed through inhibition of a specific serine-threonine kinase responsible for activation of the MenaINV protein. Over-expression of the MenaINV protein isoform has been shown to play an important role in driving progression and metastatic dissemination in aggressive types of solid tumors.
“We are very pleased to have successfully completed our research project that demonstrated a 50% or more reduction in distant metastasis in animal models of aggressive breast cancer,” stated Douglas A. Hamilton, MetaStat’s President, CEO and Director. “These results confirm our pathway forward for development of MAPKAPK2 inhibitors selected for specificity against the Mena protein.” MetaStat has received the final milestone payment of approximately $100,000 and completed its obligations under the pilot research agreement. MetaStat has received aggregate milestone payments of approximately $1 million from Celgene pursuant to the terms of the agreement.
Detailed results from these in vitro and in vivo studies will be submitted to a future medical conference and for publication.
About MetaStat, Inc.
MetaStat is a precision medicine
company dedicated to transforming the treatment of patients with
aggressive cancer. Our mission is to evolve cancer treatment into a
manageable disease through targeted therapies that arrest cancer cell
dissemination and metastatic progression. Aggressive cancer that spreads
or metastasizes to other parts of the body is responsible for
approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths, yet there are no
anti-metastatic drugs on the market. MetaStat’s drug discovery program
is focused on developing novel drug candidates that target the
Mena-dependent metastatic cascade. MetaStat is developing novel small
molecule and peptide-based kinase inhibitors that target the MAPKAPK2
pathway responsible for activation of Mena. The company’s MenaINV
CDx companion diagnostic assay identifies patients with Mena-high tumors
at risk for cancer metastasis and most likely to benefit from anti-Mena
therapy. MetaStat is based in Boston, MA.
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