On June 29, 2023 Shasqi, Inc. ("Shasqi") a clinical stage biotech company, whose mission is to revolutionize cancer treatment with click chemistry, reported the expansion of its Click Activated Protodrugs Against Cancer (CAPAC ) platform with a pivotal manuscript describing the preclinical development of SQ2201, a novel cancer therapy (Press release, Shasqi, JUN 29, 2023, View Source [SID1234632992]). SQ2201 comprises a systemically administered tumor targeting agent that binds to the HER2 receptor (SQT01), paired with an MMAE protodrug (SQP22), which is activated at the site of the tumor via a click chemistry reaction. SQ2201 showed potent anti-tumor effects in mice that surpassed those seen with a biosimilar of disitamab vedotin, a conventional ADC which targets the same antigen and delivers the same payload. The manuscript is published in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Central Science.
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"By decoupling the targeting agent from the payload, our unique approach has the potential to expand on the promise of ADCs," said José M. Mejía Oneto, M.D., Ph.D., Shasqi CEO and founder. "Our systemic HER2 antigen targeting agent opens up a new area for our CAPAC platform, unlocking our library of payloads to the world of targeted therapeutics. We are excited to continue expanding the possibilities of our technology."
This work builds on the clinical validation achieved with SQ3370. In a phase 1 study, click chemistry was used to activate up to 12-times the conventional dose of doxorubicin, with a more favorable toxicity profile. Tumor localization of click chemistry in this instance was achieved through an intratumorally injected biopolymer. A phase 2 study is ongoing.