R01CA258736

A Chemical Genetic Approach to Exploring Novel Therapeutic Space for Colorectal Cancer - Project Summary

Metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, and annually accounts for nearly 500,000 deaths worldwide. Currently, the small molecule kinase inhibitor (KI) regorafenib is the primary second line therapy for metastatic CRC that is not treatable with immunotherapy or anti-EGFR therapies. However, regorafenib generally provides only modest improvements in survival—typically months—and often at the cost of significant side effects.

Proposed targets for regorafenib include kinases that act within tumor cells as well as non-autonomously; however, with over 500 possible targets in the human kinome, the exact mechanism by which this compound operates remains controversial and not fully known. This presents a daunting challenge; without a verifiable target or mechanism, no clear path exists to guide the development of improved therapies for MCRC.

Here, we propose an alternative approach to drug development that focuses on kinase networks in the context of the whole animal. Specifically, we will take a multidisciplinary approach to define kinases that are beneficial to inhibit ('pro-targets') or avoid ('anti-targets') in the context of KRAS-variant CRC. Using Drosophila and mammalian models, we will identify kinases that—when reduced—alter the efficacy of regorafenib and similar compounds. We will also conduct extensive structure-activity relationship analyses, evaluating how modifications in already identified lead compounds impact changes in efficacy and therapeutic index.

Finally, we will use computational structural biology to convert our chemical genetic insights into highly optimized and precise polypharmacological leads. In this final step, we generate new analogs to selectively eliminate putative anti-target activity while maintaining or increasing inhibitory activity against other beneficial targets.

We have used our chemical genetic platform to identify a promising lead compound, APS5-86-2, that demonstrates significant activity relative to regorafenib in several MCRC models, including human patient derived xenografts (PDX). Comparative analysis suggests that the improved activity of APS5-86-2 relative to regorafenib derives from distinct polypharmacology on several RTKs and critical cancer drivers, including CDK9, AURKA, EGFR, BRAF, and RAF1.

In this proposal, we examine the mechanism and importance of these and other putative pro- and anti-target kinases using genetic analysis and in vivo target engagement. The objective is to identify the kinase networks that mediate KRAS-variant MCRC by combining chemical biology with genetics, and to then derive inhibitors that best attack these networks through structure-based drug design.

We have been successful previously with a similar approach, but in less complex tumor models (Dar et al., Nature, 2012; Sonoshita et al., Nature Chem. Bio., 2018); here we seek to extend our platform to a more prevalent disease with the goal of directly impacting MCRC by creating new, highly differentiated, and improved drugs.

Sloan-Kettering Institute For Cancer Research

TO DEVELOP THE MEANS TO CURE AS MANY CANCER PATIENTS AS POSSIBLE AND TO CONTROL THE DISEASE IN THOSE PATIENTS WHO ARE NOT CURED. CANCER TREATMENT RESEARCH INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF IMPROVED METHODS OF CANCER TREATMENT THROUGH THE SUPPORT AND PERFORMANCE OF BOTH FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LABORATORY AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. RESEARCH IS SUPPORTED IN THE DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT, AND CLINICAL TESTING OF ALL MODES OF THERAPY INCLUDING: SURGERY, RADIOTHERAPY, CHEMOTHERAPY, AND BIOLOGICAL THERAPY INCLUDING MOLECULARLY TARGETED THERAPIES, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMBINATION. IN ADDITION, RESEARCH IS CARRIED OUT IN AREAS OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT, STEM CELL AND BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION, IMAGE GUIDED THERAPIES AND STUDIES TO REDUCE TOXICITY OF CYTOTOXIC THERAPIES, AND OTHER METHODS OF SUPPORTIVE CARE THAT MAY SUPPLEMENT AND ENHANCE PRIMARY TREATMENT. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research

National Cancer Institute (NCI) [HHS - NIH]

New York, New York 100656007 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 387% from $635,077 to $3,094,578.