Nicknamed “the emperor of all maladies” by the celebrated bio-science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee, cancer is the pinnacle of all known diseases and still remains the top challenge in medicine. However, with the latest advancements in biotechnology and genetic therapy, we have gotten a glimpse into what the future of cancer treatment might look like.
Although it might not apply to all forms of cancer, scientists have identified most cancers as coming from several specific mutations of a particular gene or gene group. These progressive mutations can be due to environmental or intrinsic factors. As researchers dove into understanding the mechanisms of how cancer develops, they realized cancer can be prevented by targeting the key protein which drives the metabolism of proliferating cancer cells. Since then, most cancer therapy research falls in the cycle of identifying the key molecule, finding substances to inhibit its function, and the safe administration of it in patients.
Japan - being among the leading countries in cancer research - has contributed tremendously in humanity’s quest to conquer cancer. Hence, it is not surprising to see a steep rise in the number of Japanese startups focusing on cancer detection and therapy in recent years. In this article, we will be uncovering four startups helping patients to battle cancer with various technologies in bioscience, such as RNA therapy, iPS cells, and genomic assay.
The Hallmarks of Cancer has identified biological capabilities and stress phenotypes acquired during the multistep development of human tumors. Recently, RNA deregulation has been proposed to be the new stress phenotype and scientists have been working hard in establishing novel therapeutic methods for targeting this phenotype.
Chordia Therapeutics Inc. has been trying to exploit this region of science by identifying and generating small-molecule medicines that prevent or modify RNA deregulation. With their recent ~31 million USD Series C funding, Chordia is expecting to further develop their pipeline with a few of their projects has passed Phase I in clinical trial.
The development of tumors is mainly due to mutation in oncogene or tumor suppressor genes, leading to an altered metabolism and abnormal proliferation of the cells. These genes have been the main drug targets for cancer treatment, with one of them being SLC transporters.
J-Pharma Co., Ltd. has developed a low molecular weight compound that selectively inhibits SLC transporters being expressed in proliferating cancer cells. They are currently proceeding with clinical trials for the drug, named JPH203 for biliary tract cancer. They have also introduced another molecule with the same function, named OKY-304. This molecule is targeted to be an inhibitor for pancreatic cancer and its clinical trial is under way.
With 80 million yen capital raised, it is believed that this will keep them in operation until the end of the clinical trials of their products.
The development of iPS cells has opened a new path for regenerative medicine and its application in cancer treatment - one of them being cell therapy; specifically Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) transplantation.
HSC transplantation is a therapy involving the transplantation of healthy HSCs into patients suffering from blood cancers or disorders of the blood or immune system. It aims to regrow healthy blood in patients, though there are still serious challenges in the success of this therapy.
Aiming to solve one of the biggest challenges, engraftment rate and compatibility issues, Celaid Therapeutics Inc. has developed a novel method by producing HSCs in-vitro to the required volume at the required time before transplantation. This has ensured excellent engraftment rates and quality, leading to higher successful rate of HSCs transplantation.
Genomic analysis and assays have developed tremendously in recent years, with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology leading the biotechnology industry. With this technology, Quantdetect, Inc. grows their business in cancer detection by identifying gene mutation of patients through their genomic assay, named OTS-Assay.
This multi-stage assay includes scanning, selecting and monitoring gene mutation that are known to cause human cancer. Other than OTS-Assay being their main business, they are also involved in medical research consulting and academia-driven patent management in cancer treatment.
Cancer remains the biggest challenge in medicine. More capital is flowing into cancer therapy in recent years, and we have seen huge advancement in the research, implementation and commercialization of drug and therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.
Japan is at the forefront of this industry, with startups such as those above paving the way for the future of cancer therapy not only domestically, but also internationally. We are definitely in the age of bioscience and Japan is expected to be the leader of next-generation therapeutics.
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