Hillstream BioPharma announced signing an exclusive option agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to licence technology targeting the MUC1-C oncoprotein.
This agreement allows Hillstream to leverage Quatramer platform to advance anti-MUC1-C agents targeting CSCs for the treatment of highly aggressive tumours, which represents a major unmet need for patients.
Under an exclusive option agreement which, if converted into an exclusive licence agreement, will allow Hillstream to develop anti-MUC1-C antibodies to supply Hillstream's Quatramer-based lead candidate. HSB-1216 targets CSC by inducing ferroptosis. This approach, combineing HSB-1216 for conjugation with MUC1-C antibodies, is highly synergistic in eliminating CSCs, effective for long-term responses and treatments.
MUC1-C is effective against a number of drug resistant cancers such as metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). MUC1-C is considered necessary for multiple hallmarks of the cancer cell, including (i) the persister cell (PC) state, (ii) drug resistance, (iii) immunosuppression, and (iv) poor clinical outcomes
