MD Anderson and Eisbach Bio Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop Medicines Targeting Epigenetic Machinery in Oncology

Timothy A. Yap, MBBS, PhD

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Eisbach Bio GmbH today announced a strategic research collaboration to jointly discover and develop precision oncology drugs that target synthetic lethal engines key to tumor genome evolution.

The agreement aligns the drug discovery and development expertise of MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division with the innovative discovery platform and allosteric assay technology of Eisbach to generate medicines that selectively disrupt genome replication and DNA repair in cancers harboring defined genetic alterations.

“Modern genomics has revealed synthetic lethal targets in certain cancers with tumor suppressor gene mutations, and Eisbach has developed tools to pinpoint precisely where these targets are vulnerable at the molecular level,” said Adrian Schomburg, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Eisbach. “We are excited to collaborate with MD Anderson to develop innovative targeted therapies that exploit these unique vulnerabilities.”

Synthetic lethality is a phenomenon in which cancer cells with mutations in certain pathways are hypersensitive to drugs targeting related pathways. Notably, defects in certain DNA damage repair pathways – common to many cancer types – render cancer cells dependent on processes that reorganize the cancer genome.

“Cancers harboring mutations in tumor suppressor genes have been notoriously difficult to treat in the past,” said Timothy A. Yap, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., associate professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics and medical director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) at MD Anderson. “However, growing clinical evidence with PARP inhibitors demonstrates that targeting synthetic lethality is a promising strategy in certain cancer types, and we look forward to continued progress in this space.”

Eisbach and MD Anderson will leverage their complementary expertise to jointly identify targets and develop small-molecule therapies that can shut off specific epigenetic processes, thereby disrupting genome control selectively in tumor cells while sparing normal tissues. With its proprietary assay platform, Eisbach is uniquely capable of identifying and targeting molecular vulnerabilities in this machinery through allosteric mechanisms.

“Our platform identifies the unique activation mechanisms of molecular machines essential for cancer cell growth,” said Andreas Ladurner, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Eisbach. “With this insight, we are able to develop targeted drugs that selectively interfere with the ignition of the engines that tumor cells have come to rely upon. These drugs are safe and selective by design.”

Eisbach will collaborate with the team at IACS, a drug discovery engine focused on developing novel small-molecule therapeutics. IACS is a core component of MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division, an integrated team of researchers, physicians and drug development experts working to advance impactful new therapies.

“Our Therapeutics Discovery team is committed to developing the next generation of cancer treatments that address significant unmet needs in oncology,” said Philip Jones, Ph.D., vice president of Therapeutics Discovery and head of IACS at MD Anderson. “By focusing on epigenetic machinery in our collaboration with Eisbach, we are hoping to advance additional much-needed therapeutic options that can improve patients’ lives.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Eisbach and MD Anderson will jointly determine the appropriate pathway for future development and possible commercialization on any therapies that show promise in laboratory studies.

Disclosures

MD Anderson has an institutional conflict of interest with Eisbach Bio GmbH through this strategic alliance and is implementing an Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan for all research related to this agreement.

About Eisbach Bio GmbH

Eisbach develops novel drugs that disrupt molecular machines essential to tumors with defined genetic vulnerabilities in the context of DNA damage and repair (DDR) pathways. Its proprietary platform creates targeted therapies that exploit disease-relevant vulnerabilities. By shutting off the machine’s engine using allosteric inhibitors, their impactful medicines prevent the reorganization and evolution of cancer genomes. Founded in 2019, Eisbach is privately held and backed by international investors. For more information, please visit www.eisbach.bio

About MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 51 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is No. 1 for cancer in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings. It has been named one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer since the rankings began in 1990. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).