Rain Therapeutics has announced the signing of an exclusive, worldwide license agreement of a Drexel University research program to Rain for small molecule inhibitors of RAD52, a critical molecule involved in the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway. The agreement expands Rain’s targeted oncology pipeline to include synthetic lethal strategies for the treatment of cancers associated with mutations in the DDR pathway, including breast and ovarian cancers characterized by BRCA1/2 mutations.
“Rain was founded with the goal of developing biomarker-driven, tumor-agnostic approaches to cancer treatment, and we are thrilled to be building on that vision today with the addition of Drexel’s RAD52 program to our pipeline,” said Avanish Vellanki, cofounder and chief executive officer of Rain Therapeutics. “RAD52 is a novel and rational oncology target, and we’ve been very impressed with the advances in the field made by Drexel researchers.”
RAD52 is involved in several DDR pathways, and RAD52 inactivation is synthetically lethal in cancer cells with BRCA1/2 and other homologous recombination (HR) gene mutations. Drexel’s RAD52-targeted inhibitors have evidenced potent in vitro and in vivo activity in BRCA1-deficient xenograft models, alone and in combination with PARP inhibitors.
There are currently no clinical programs in development targeting RAD52.
“Targeting RAD52 has been a major focus of our research efforts, and we are excited that this work is moving forward towards a targeted therapy for BRCA-deficient cancers. There is great potential for precision medicine therapies for patients with these difficult-to-treat cancers, and we look forward to collaborating with Rain to bring this important science to the bedside as quickly and safely as possible,” Dr. Alexander Mazin, the principal investigator on the RAD52 project at Drexel said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rain will support ongoing research at Drexel University in addition to conducting independent research to optimize candidates for clinical development. Drexel University will also receive milestone payments and royalties based on successful development and commercialization of proprietary programs.