IL-17E
IL-17E (also known as IL-25) is a recently identified cytokine that plays an important role in inflammation. Lorus has discovered that human IL-17E has potent anticancer properties against a range of solid tumors, including human melanoma, pancreatic, colon, lung, ovarian and breast tumor models with very low toxicity.
IL-17 E is highly potent and does not require further optimization before proceeding to the formal IND-enabling preclinical studies planned to support advancing to a Phase I clinical trial. Lorus has selected pancreatic cancer and malignant melanoma as the initial lead cancer indications for this agent. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the US. It is a difficult-to-treat tumor type with an overall five-year survival rate of 6%, the lowest for any cancer. Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the US. An estimated 9,000 deaths will be caused by melanoma in the US in 2011.
There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapies for both pancreatic cancer and malignant melanoma. A variety of cytokines are actively being developed as cancer therapies but often need to be further optimized to reduce toxicity or enhance efficacy. By contrast, IL-17E that already has an acceptable therapeutic index suitable for further development as a systemic therapy without the need for further optimization or modification.