MYC Program as a biomarker of response to treatment with Enzalutamide

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Invention Summary:

Administration of Enzalutamide has been shown to improve patient survival overall, yet patients respond differently to the drug with nearly half either not responding or developing resistance over time.  Unfortunately, patients that fail Enzalutamide treatment are left with no targeted therapeutic option, and progress to more lethal forms of prostate cancer and eventual death.

Researchers at Rutgers University and Northwestern University have identified NME as an upstream regulatory partner of MYC in CRPC and have demonstrated that NME2-MYC increased activities can predict patients at risk of resistance to Enzalutamide.  Further, experimental investigations demonstrate that targeting MYC and its partner NME2 is beneficial in Enzalutamide-resistant conditions and could provide an effective strategy for patients at risk of resistance and/or for patients who have failed Enzalutamide treatment.

Advantages:

• Pre-screening patients prior to Enzalutamide administration could enhance therapeutic planning, preclude harmful side effects and patient survival.
• MYC and NME2 are potential therapeutic targets for CRPC patients after standard or initial therapies including with Enzalutamide have failed.
• Able to be used with treatment naïve patients or those already treated with Enzalutamide.

Market Applications:

• Diagnostic biomarkers to identify primary resistance to Enzalutamide based on increased activity levels of MYC pathway and NME transcriptional regulator programs.
• Therapeutic targeting of MYC using small-molecule MYC inhibitor MYCi975 and concurrent NME2 knock-down could reverse Enzalutamide resistance.

Intellectual Property & Development Status: Provisional patent application filed. Available for licensing and/or search collaboration. For any business development and other collaborative partnerships contact marketingbd@research.rutgers.edu