Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

MPI's Oncology Venture, Lantern Pharma Receive $800K Award to Advance Prostate Cancer Drug Using a Biomarker

NEW YORK(GenomeWeb) – Medical Prognosis Institute today announced its drug development arm, Oncology Venture, and Lantern Pharma have received an $800,000 grant to support their efforts to advance an antitumor agent for treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with the use of a biomarker developed by MPI.

The grant was awarded under the Life Sciences International Collaborative Industry Program, which is administered by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. 

Irofulven is a transcription-coupled repair-specific antitumor agent that has shown promise in earlier clinical trials but has not reached suitable efficacy endpoints. Under the partnership, OV and Lantern will use an irofulven-specific biomarker developed by MPI to identify patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who are likely to respond to the drug. Those patients would be enrolled in a targeted Phase II trial for irofulven, whose rights are held by Lantern. 

MPI developed the biomarker with its Drug Response Predictor platform, which can be used to identify patients who are likely to respond to drug treatments. Its transcriptomics-based approach combines gene expression profiling with systems biology analytics, according to MPI's website. 

OV acquires and invests in cancer drugs that have previously failed clinical efficacy trials but can be repurposed for the right indication and right patients through the Drug Response Predictor platform, MPI said.