NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ostentus Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that it has entered into a second Sponsored Research Agreement with City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, to conduct preclinical research on OST compounds, which could be used as future therapies for leukemia and other cancers.
OST compounds are natural products derived from plants native of tropical and subtropical America, which have been used in alternative and traditional medicine. At City of Hope, these compounds will undergo rigorous pharmacologic and preliminary toxicologic testing at specialized laboratories. The compounds’ active principles will be investigated individually and in combination to identify their mechanisms of action and anticancer activity.
Guido Marcucci, M.D., director of City of Hope’s Gehr Family Center for Leukemia Research, chair of the Department of Hematologic Malignancies Translational Science, part of City of Hope’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, and chief of its Division of Leukemia Research, will lead the research, which is expected to culminate in a first-in-human clinical trial.
“Ostentus is honored to continue working with City of Hope and Dr. Marcucci on this exciting new phase in the journey of bringing OST proprietary compounds to the market as a potential anti-cancer therapy,” said William Graff, Ostentus co-founder and director.
“We have been pleased working with Ostentus on this exciting project and the potential application of the OST natural products (OST-01) to our personalized therapeutic approaches for cancer and leukemia patients,” Marcucci added.
The anti-cancer activity of OST-01 has now been demonstrated in leukemia, glioblastoma, lung, colorectal, triple negative breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers both in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism of action through which OST-01 significantly inhibits cancer cells has also been explored broadly. These results provide strong evidence that OST-01 targets both leukemic and cancer stem cells by suppressing predominant upregulated “stemness” signaling. Importantly, OST-01 safety has been demonstrated by the lack of non-toxic and non-adverse health effects on both normal and cancer mouse models.
Ostentus is making important progress in identifying the principal molecule(s) with anti-cancer activity in the OST-01 plant extract. By employing analytical chromatography [e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography ultraviolet and mass spectrometry (LC-UV and LC-MS)], the bioactive fractions of OST-01 have been isolated and are undergoing rigorous evaluation to confirm their individual anti-cancer activity.
About Ostentus Therapeutics
Ostentus Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company investigating the activity, efficacy and safety of novel natural compounds in the treatment of different types of cancer and leukemia through rigorous pharmacological testing.