BreAking the Link betweeN myo10 and CancEr

ended

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer form and the leading cause of death among women while pancreatic cancer is the fourth commonest cause of cancer-related mortality across the world and very difficult to treat due to its aggressive nature and the relative lack of curative options. A major impediment in the identification of new therapeutic targets lies in our limited understanding of the exact mechanisms taking place within the tumor microenvironment that are responsible for the development of cancer, progression and metastasis. Based on our recent experiments, we have found that high expression of an actin-binding protein correlates with poor clinical prognosis in breast and pancreatic cancer patients. Drawing upon our recent findings, the target of the PoC project is two-fold. First, to (i) validate the clinical application of our novel therapeutic concept by conducting a series of in-vitro and in-vivo tests on a set of 22 Myo10 inhibitory lead-compounds (i.e. “hits”) which were identified via High-Throughput Screening (HTS). Second, to (ii) take the necessary steps towards the definition of the best business path in view of the strong pre-commercialization potential.