Vidac Pharma Holdings Plc., a clinical-stage oncology biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of cancer treatments,  announces that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a patent to the company offering broad protection of the mode of action underlying its oncology and onco-dermatologic therapeutic candidates. The patent protects the use of Vidac’s new chemical entities to detach the hexokinase2 isozyme from the mitochondrial VDAC pores to reverse the hyperglycolytic metabolism of cancer cells. Vidac’s clinical studies have shown that this has the potential to halt cancer cell proliferation, restore programmed cell death (apoptosis) and suppress the immunosuppressive qualities of the tumor microenvironment.

“This extremely wide-ranging patent is very welcome news for Vidac, given that it provides full protection of our efforts to bring an entirely new class of cancer treatments to market. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only company in the world whose products aim to reverse the supercharged metabolism of cancer cells – known as the Warburg effect - and Vidac is now holding the exclusive patent to this extremely promising mode of action in the U.S. market,” said Prof Max Herzberg, Chief Executive Officer of Vidac Pharma.

Vidac Pharma’s two product candidates - VDA-1275 as well as the more advanced VDA-1102 - disrupt the interaction between hexokinase 2 (HK2) and the voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) in mitochondria. Cancer cells overexpress HK2, which catalyzes the first step of the glucose metabolism necessary to fuel tumor growth. HK2 blocks the channels, which prevents apoptosis, supports cancer cell proliferation, and suppresses immune responses. The resulting high concentrations of lactate lead to an acidic and low-oxygen micro-environment in the cancer cells and the nearby tumor microenvironment which fosters cancer growth. Clinical data for Vidac’s first-generation metabolic checkpoint modulator candidates have shown effects in halting cancer cell proliferation and restoring immune-sensitivity and apoptosis.

VDA-1102 is now in Phase 2b clinical studies to treat advanced actinic keratosis and Phase 2 testing in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In animal studies, VDA-1275 has shown statistically significant efficacy as a monotherapy, as well as synergistic effects in combination with two standard-of-care cancer treatments: sorafenib, a kinase inhibitor, and cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy drug. The studies also showed that VDA-1275 triggered an immunologic response of its own, inducing anti-tumor macrophages and memory T-cells, and inhibiting tumor-promoting macrophages.