Made-in-BC prostate cancer drug enters clinical trials

A prostate cancer drug bio-prospected and developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) is entering human clinical trials.

Developed by Marianne Sadar, a researcher with UBC Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and a distinguished scientist at the BCCA, and Raymond Andersen in the departments of Chemistry and Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, EPI-506 was specifically designed to target and shut down metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer when other treatments fail.

Over a decade in the making, EPI-506 is the first drug to target the “back end” of the androgen receptor protein, called the N-terminal domain. The androgen receptor drives most prostate cancer cells and makes them sensitive to androgen hormones, such as testosterone. Sadar was the first to recognize and demonstrate experimentally that the N-terminal domain of the androgen receptor was a promising new drug target for the treatment  of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.

The lead compound of the drug was sourced from a marine sponge extract, and designed and synthesized in Andersen’s lab. Andersen is known for his research into the structure of novel chemical compounds derived from marine organisms, the molecular routes to their biosynthesis, their role in ocean ecology and their potential as new drugs.

A Phase I multi-center clinical trial, sponsored by ESSA Pharma Inc., opens today at the BCCA and other sites in the U.S. to determine the drug’s safety, tolerability and anti-tumour activity. Kim Chi, an Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology, will run the Canadian trial.

Over 3,700 men in British Columbia will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. Metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer is the lethal form of the disease and is resistant to most treatments.

Sadar’s work was supported by $2.6 million from the BC Cancer Foundation donors, as well as the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The Canadian Cancer Society supported Andersen’s research.