Eisbach Bio GmbH, a pioneering precision oncology company, is pleased to announce the receipt of a Texas Therapeutics Company Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). This prestigious grant of US$4.75 million will support the clinical development of Eisbach’s first-in-class allosteric small molecule inhibitor EIS-12656 targeting ALC1, a chromatin remodeling enzyme and helicase that represents the molecular Achilles heel in a large subset of difficult-to-treat human cancers.
Eisbach Bio’s innovative approach focuses on exploiting the unique genetic vulnerabilities present in solid tumors with deficiencies in certain DNA repair pathways. Eisbach’s proprietary ALLOS platform systematically recapitulates the tight controls that strictly regulate the activity of several key cancer-driving molecular machines. This facilitated the development of a selective drug that exploits and disrupts a specific and unique mechanism that regulates the activation of the molecular machine ALC1 during DNA repair. This disrupts genome reorganization during DNA repair, halting tumor growth and enabling a new therapeutic approach.
The CPRIT grant will help support the work of Eisbach Bio during the Dose Expansion monotherapy Module 1 of its Phase I/II cancer trial, which is led by Dr. Timothy Yap of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. EIS-12656 addresses the unmet medical needs of patients with homologous recombination deficient (HRD) cancers who have experienced failure with standard of care therapies. This includes malignant solid tumors, with or without brain metastases, particularly breast, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers, corresponding to ~40,000 patients per year in the US alone.
“We are incredibly honored to receive this support from CPRIT, which underscores the potential of our ALC1 inhibitor EIS-12656 to transform cancer treatment,” said Dr. Adrian Schomburg, Chief Executive Officer at Eisbach Bio GmbH. “This funding validates our unique allosteric approach, which has led to a drug candidate with an exceptional safety profile. The CPRIT award also underlines our commitment to Texas and the robust established relationships that we have developed, including through the Cancer Focus Fund, a unique investment fund established to provide funding and clinical expertise to advance promising cancer therapies. We look forward to accelerating our mission to develop transformative precision medicines, offering new hope to patients with limited treatment options.”
CPRIT’s Product Development Research Program funds projects at Texas-based companies developing novel products or services intended to benefit cancer patients. Eisbach Bio was the only international company that received an award among 90 applicants. Eisbach Bio will increase its activities and footprint in Texas and continue contributing to the state’s exceptional life sciences and biomedicine ecosystems.
