Xylonix Reveals New Drug Compound for Combating Cancer and Abnormal Macrophages

Xylonix, a Singapore-based biotech company, has developed a new immunity drug (010DS-Zn) that demonstrates potential for treating a variety of solid cancers and COVID-19's post-recovery complications, which include heart damage, diabetes and multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This research was recently submitted as a preprint publication on bioRxiv.org .

Aggressive solid cancers have been known to manipulate immunity for its advancements in several ways. One way is the enrichment of an immunity subset called M2-like macrophages (M2), which is associated in cancer metastasis, relapse, and treatment resistance. Recent studies showed that COVID-19 infection resulted in similar immune pathologies to solid cancers – increased M2 activity and suppressed CD4 and CD8 T-cells[1] activity.

Xylonix demonstrated that its drug compound 010DS-Zn markedly reduced M2 population, while simultaneously boosting anti-cancer CD4 and CD8 T cells. This resulted in tumour suppression in animal studies. It also demonstrated consistent anti-cancer activity in 53 human patient-derived cancers tested ex vivo.

"Today's cancer immunotherapy combinations can cost upwards of $200,000/year (1), but beneficial responses in patients happen at 15% chance-at-random (2). We developed 010DS-Zn as a widely applicable immunotherapy to significantly increase these odds. As of today, we are concerned about the 120 million and more people (3) with COVID-19 infection history who may suffer from long term recovery complications. We have manufactured sufficient quantity of 010DS-Zn to be used for multiple collaborations, and we are looking for capable partners to work with us on further studies on 010DS-Zn's effect on human tumours and COVID-19 complications," said Dr Fred Chung, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder Xylonix.

[1] CD4 and CD8 T-cells are specific types of lymphocytes that play a central role in the immune system, helping the body fight off infections and tumors.

About Xylonix

Founded in 2016, Xylonix is a Singapore-based innovative cancer immunotherapy development company that is bringing novel anticancer therapies that help realise the curative potential of cancer immunotherapy. The company's proprietary first-in-class onco-parthanatos technology kills, then turns cancer into its own inflammatory antigens, initiative the effective anti-cancer immune response for solving the reliability issues of today's cancer immunotherapies. Xylonix aims to advance its candidate pipelines to clinical phases through industry collaborations and is pushing the envelope on cutting-edge translational studies. 

References

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A. Haslam, V. Prasad, Estimation of the Percentage of US Patients With Cancer Who Are Eligible for and Respond to Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy Drugs. JAMA Netw Open 2, e192535 (2019); published online EpubMay 3 (10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.2535).

J. H. U. CSSE. (Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html, 2021).