Corporate profile
Alethia Biotherapeutics is a privately held, Montreal-based biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical needs.
Alethia currently has two products in advanced pre-clinical stage and two discovery programs. The Company focuses in therapeutic areas that have large unmet medical needs.
Metastatic cancer
When cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system and spread to other parts of the body, the tumor is called metastatic. The most common sites of metastasis are the lungs, bones, liver, and brain. Furthermore, some cancer types spread to certain parts of the body. For example, lung cancer commonly metastasizes to the brain or bones, whereas, colon cancer often spreads to the liver. The underlying mechanisms that drive the spread of primary tumor cells are only starting to emerge but increasing evidence points to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as an important contributing process. Alethia has in-licensed a family of monoclonal antibodies that inhibit a circulating factor called clusterin, a potent promoter of EMT in breast and prostate cancer cells. Proof-of-efficacy studies of metastatic cancer in animal models are currently under way and a humanized monoclonal antibody is at the early stages of development.
Severe bone loss program
To address the need for more specific and more potent anti-resorptives, Alethia has undertaken a target discovery and validation program aimed at identifying specific key regulators required for osteoclast differentiation and activity. The last decade has witnessed considerable progress in the treatment of osteoporosis. Nevertheless, there are needs for more potent and specific antiresorptive drugs to treat severe bone loss that occurs in metastatic cancer, as well as in advanced cases of osteoporosis and inflammatory disorders. Frequent complications that arise as a result of these conditions include hypercalcemia, bone fracture, and severe pain. Alethia has exploited established osteoclast models to discover and validate several new important players that are part of an ever-growing collection of novel targets for drug development. These important advances increase the chances that one or more of these may form the basis for new treatments in both acute bone loss that occurs during cancer metastasis or in chronic diseases such as osteoporosis. We believe that due to the specificity of their expression, the discovery of novel inhibitors targeting these proteins will undoubtedly offer patients with severe bone loss better therapeutic benefits compared to current drug therapies.
Ovarian cancer program
Targets for therapeutic intervention – Ovarian cancer is a terrible disease that affects greater than 1 in 70 women in North America. Unfortunately, this type of cancer is rarely diagnosed during its early stages and it is usually quite advanced by the time diagnosis is made. Thus, there is an urgent need for early detection markers as well as for new ovarian cancer-specific therapeutics. Using an innovative discovery and validation platform, a diversified portfolio of ovarian cancer-specific genes has been collected, most of which have yet to be described in this disease. The Company now has several validated targets that are promising candidates for drug development. In addition, Alethia will use its proprietary ovarian cancer-specific antigens to begin the assembly of a new diagnostic blood test that will be more selective and specific than currently available kits.
Small molecule chemosensitizer – Alethia is seeking to add value to its current cancer programs by identifying preclinical-stage drugs that are close to IND filing. To this end, Alethia has in-licensed a G2 checkpoint inhibitor that has been integrated into our current ovarian cancer program. AB-IsoG is the first G2 checkpoint inhibitor that was discovered in a rational cell-based assay designed specifically to identify these types of small molecules. Much of the preliminary studies have been conducted including drug optimization, target identification, structure determination of the molecule bound to its target, and synthesis. Furthermore, this drug is protected by worldwide issued patents, and Alethia has obtained the exclusive rights to this molecule.
Finally, Alethia has been able to establish a very strong collaborative oncology network with university hospital centers and scientists providing access to clinical material and insight, collaborations that are paramount to the long-term success of the organization.
