Soligenix Inc. (NASDAQ: SNGX) has announced that Dusquetide has shown efficacy in tumor size reduction in nonclinical xenograft models. Dusquetide is an innate defense regulator with a novel action mechanism it employs in modulating the body’s reaction to infection and injury towards anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and tissue healing response.
Dusquetide is effective as a single agent and combination therapy
In the context of the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, recent studies have verified Dusquetide’s efficacy as a single agent and as a combination of anti-tumor therapy with chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy. Dusquetide has previously shown benefits in Phase 2 clinical study for lowering severe oral mucositis (SOM) duration and a third phase study for SOM rates reducing in the per-protocol cohort. Furthermore, an ancillary gain of treating oral mucositis in patients under chemo-radiation for head and neck cancer was witnessed in the second phase clinical trial, in addition to a decrease in SOM, an acceleration in tumor response clearance, and an upsurge in overall survival.
Soligenix investigating potential of Dusquetide in lowering oral mucositis
Soligenix continues to investigate product prospects, both in the lowering of oral mucositis in HNC and also as a prospective anti treatment, depending on the underlying proof of principle demonstrated both clinically and non clinically with Dusquetide. This proprietary synthetic peptide helps regulate the innate immune system of the body. Dusquetide binds to QSTM-1 or p62, a scaffold protein involved in a lot of intracellular signaling networks, including autophagy, that is important for tumor cell survival. P62’s function is well understood in breast cancer and multiple myeloma. Most importantly, p62 has been shown to play a role in carcinogenesis in all breast cancer types, including estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), metastatic breast cancer, triple-negative expressing cell lines, and human epidermal growth factor receptor two high expressing (HER2+).
CEO Christopher J. Schaber said, “Soligenix continues to pursue potential product opportunities with our new chemical entity dusquetide, including in oncology. With the supportive data from the Phase 2 and 3 oral mucositis trials, and the nonclinical anti-tumor efficacy demonstrated, we continue to pursue potential partnership for this novel molecule.”
