Gliomic Therapeutics
Bringing Synthetic Lethality
To Genetically-Defined Brain Tumors
Gliomic is a newly formed biotechnology company, combining expertise in cancer synthetic lethality with experts in DHODH inhibition, to pursue ground-breaking research in neuro-oncology.
Ground-Breaking Research in Cancer Metabolism
In 2022, the laboratories of Sam McBrayer, PhD and Nobel Laureate Bill Kaelin, MD published research identifying that inhibition of the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) resulted in highly potent cell death among tumor cells carrying the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation, while sparing wildtype (unmutated) cells. The IDH mutational is a foundational and truncal mutation, present in all astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma brain tumors.
Decades of experience in DHODH drug development
Seeking a safe and effective drug candidate for potential use in patients, Drs. McBrayer and Kaelin reached out to Immunic, whose scientists have focused on developing next generation DHODH inhibitors for several decades. These scientists invented and have almost completed phase 3 development of the drug candidate vidofludimus calcium in multiple sclerosis. That drug has not only shown powerful inhibition of DHODH, but is also the only DHODH inhibitor to ever publish such a favorable safety and tolerability profile with chronic dosing. To date, over 3,400 people have been treated with vidofludimus calcium across different trials and indications, including many with over 5 years of continuous daily exposure.
Working together these experts, a series of highly potent and brain penetrant DHODH inhibitors were identified, which show very promising safety and tolerability data in animals, highly selective cancer cell cytotoxicity in vitro, and clear efficacy in gold standard animal models.
The end result is Gliomic, whose mission is to find better treatments for genetically-defined populations of brain tumors.