Cancer data led US pharmaceutical company to make the second-largest acquisition in the history of venture capital
AbbVie's acquired start-up researching drugs that prevent cancer from spreading by attacking its cells, one of which is expected to be on the market by 2018
Until now, the second-largest acquisition in the history of venture capital was largely based on clinical-trial data that hadn't been released.
In April, Stemcentrx, a startup with backing from Silicon Valley investors including Artis Ventures and Founders Fund, was acquired by AbbVie for US$5.8 billion in cash and stock in a deal that in total could be worth up to US$10.2 billion. The deal officially closed June 1.
In data released Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, Stemcentrx showed that its drug could extend the lives of certain patients with small-cell lung cancer. All of those patients had higher amounts of a specific protein.
Stemcentrx is researching drugs that are designed to treat cancer — specifically solid tumors — by targeting cancer stem cells. The intent is that by attacking those cells, it can stop the cancer from spreading.
Unlike general adult stem cells, which are found all over the body as unspecified cells that can regenerate, cancer stem cells are a specific type of cancer cell that some research suggests could play a key role in defeating the disease.
The Stemcentrx drug that's farthest along thus far is called rovalpitzumab tesirine, or Rova-T. It's currently in trials to treat small-cell lung cancer, a type of lung cancer that makes up about 10 per cent to 15 per cent of all cases. The targeted drug goes after a special protein that may be linked to cancer stem cells.
The protein, called DLL3, is highly expressed (meaning a genetic variation is telling the body to make a lot of it) in about 80 per cent of tumors, Stemcentrx chief scientific officer Scott Dylla said on Friday at AbbVie's research and development day, based on data that he's seen. Rova-T works by latching onto the protein, delivering the deadly toxin to the cell, and cutting off the tumor growth at its source.