Emerging Targets Offer New Hope for Treating Cancers and Inflammatory Diseases
Drug developers are exploring innovative targets to create new treatments for various diseases. Among them are three emerging drug targets that have shown promising clinical activity.
The first target is Cadherin-17 (CDH17), which is associated with metastatic tumor progression, especially in gastrointestinal tumors. Several companies are working on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting CDH17, including Mabwell and Sotio Biotech, both of which have dosed patients in clinical trials.
The second target is DNA polymerase theta (Polθ), an enzyme involved in DNA repair that aggressive cancers rely on. Companies like GSK and AstraZeneca are developing inhibitors targeting the helicase domain or polymerase domain of Polθ.
The third target is Tumor necrosis factor-like ligand 1A (TL1A), which has shown promise in treating immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Merck and Roche are among the companies developing anti-TL1A monoclonal antibodies, with Merck recently reporting a phase 3 victory.