Our technology represents a novel approach to target ocular cancers using virus-like particles, or VLPs, derived from the human papillomavirus (HPV) which selectively bind tumor cells and can be conjugated with cytotoxic drugs to create a new class of targeted oncology therapy.
Modified tumor-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans (mHSPGs), are a large family of molecules, expressed on the surface of cancer cells that regulate many aspects of tumor progression, including proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. Our HPV-derived VLPs demonstrate highly specific binding to these modified tumor-associated HSPGs, providing for targeted delivery of cytotoxic payload molecules conjugated to the VLP capsid proteins.
VDCs provide dual mechanisms of anti-tumor activity: 1) delivery of the cytotoxic payload specifically and directly to the cancer cell generates acute necrosis, and 2) release of tumor neoantigens and damage-activated molecular patterns (DAMPs) activates a secondary anti-tumor immune response, providing the potential for durable efficacy in the treatment of solid tumors.
