FOCUS: CANCER
Cancer immunotherapies, often in combination with chemotherapy, have emerged as standards of care for multiple tumor types. Despite breakthrough successes, response rates are still frequently low and cancer recurrences are common.
Cell surface antigen proteins are common targets for intervention. But antigen availability is often dictated by regulatory proteases, and key protease up-regulation is correlated with poor patient outcomes. These facts have been insufficiently appreciated.
Verra’s lead inhibitor, VTH140, is a small protein which will allow immunotherapies to benefit more patients by revitalizing antigen availability.
Tumor proliferative factors are also brought under control with the administration of VTH140 and it promises excellent synergy with chemotherapy (as shown).
Across numerous indications and modalities, Verra intends to leverage and amplify the power of emerging anti-cancer therapies... with real-world impact for poorly responding patients in need.
FOCUS: COPD
COPD is a debilitating disease affecting about 384 million people world wide. Spending on drug therapies exceeds 10.6 billion. Health care costs in the US alone exceed $30 billion annually. Sadly, current treatments address primarily symptoms: there are still no disease modifying agents and COPD remains a huge unmet medical need.
What’s new? A specific protease has been definitively linked with COPD’s 3 most important phenotypes (emphysema, small airway fibrosis and mucous hyper-secretion) and it is up-regulated in the lungs of human COPD patients in proportion to the severity of their disease.
Verra Therapeutics has developed a highly selective and stable inhibitor for this target. Efficacy studies in mice show VTH212’s great potential to block damage in the lung (intra-nasal administration). VTH212 exhibits favorable drug-like pharmacokinetics and is compatible with inhaled routes of administration. NIH has expressed its intent to substantially support development. Among numerous disease altering responses, harmful elastin degradation is blocked in smoke-exposed mice treated with VTH212.
Pipeline
At Verra, we have built a pipeline that leverages key proteases underlying major diseases.
Unique Inhibitor Platform
Verra's Inhibitors are based on nature's elegant design for each target and are lightly modified for stability, solubility, potency and good pharmacokinetics. As native protein drugs, they promise reduced immunogenicity and will follow clear and numerous regulatory precedents.
Additional advantages include:
1) Selectivity unachievable with small molecules... the structural differences between proteases are subtle and selectivity is critical for success.
2) Better than antibody-based technologies:
- smaller (≈ 20 KDa or less)
- not depleted on tissue entry by inactive targets
- appropriate level of affinity
=> better tissue and solid tumor penetration
(Poor penetration = reduced efficacy + cancer recurrence.)
3) Inhaled administration for respiratory indications
4) Microbial production
5) Rapid lead and process development time
6) Comprehensive IP protection
