Designing KRAS inhibitors that overcome resistance
Problem to be solved
Drug resistance is the major limitation we currently face in oncology. Many patients initially respond to treatment, but their tumor often comes back after initial response. Unfortunately, progression-free survival only lasts for 4-5 months in many indications such as pancreatic or colorectal cancer and combinations with other agents only increase it to 7 months.
Market Opportunity
KRAS is one of the most prevalent oncogenes mutated in 25% of patients and patients become quickly resistant. Patients with different cancer types and refractory cancer patients can benefit of this technology, including many types of cancer highly prevalent that represent high unmet medical needs like colorectal cancer. The global oncology market size accounted for USD $ 225.01 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 668.26 billion by 2034, expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.5% from 2024 to 2034.
Technology
The lab is developing an alternative strategy to prevent resistance from the outset. It is achieved by computational approaches to design multi-target inhibitors that simultaneously act on KRAS and key additional oncogenic targets. A first set of inhibitors have been designed and are currently being synthesized for in vitro The lab is collaborating with the Institute of Cancer Research and UK biotech VIVAN Tx to confirm in vitro biological activity of the hits, optimize them into an early lead which will be patented, and animal testing of the lead compound.
Autors
Albert Antolín
Technology Readiness Level
TRL3
What are we looking for?
Codevelopment