Boehringer Ingelheim announced a new multi-year collaboration with Vanderbilt University, complementing an already existing collaboration by focusing on the research and development of small molecule compounds targeting the protein SOS (Son Of Sevenless).
This molecule activates KRAS, a molecular switch that plays a central role in the onset of some of the deadliest cancers. The collaboration combines pioneering research in the laboratory of Stephen Fesik, Orrin H. Ingram II professor in cancer research at Vanderbilt, with the unique expertise and strength of Boehringer Ingelheim in drug discovery and clinical development.
The collaboration adds to an ongoing joint project with Vanderbilt initiated in 2015 that achieved two major milestones by identifying lead compounds that bind to KRAS with high affinities. These discoveries raise the prospect of developing novel cancer treatment options based on molecules that are able to block this critical cancer driver.
Mutations in the genes that encode KRAS are among the most powerful and frequent cancer drivers. They contribute to some of the most aggressive and deadly cancers, including up to 25 percent of lung, 35-45 percent of colorectal and about 90 percent of pancreatic tumors.
KRAS has been a particularly difficult protein to target and no effective treatments targeting KRAS have been developed since its discovery in human cancers more than 30 years ago. The development of the first molecules inhibiting KRAS activation promises huge potential for the development of improved cancer therapies, which would offer treating physicians unprecedented options to complement existing treatment regimens.
