TheraPPI Announces Publication of Preclinical Data in Nature Communications, Demonstrating the Inhibition of ERK/MyD88 Interaction as a Promising Cancer Treatment

PULSALYS and TheraPPI Bioscience SAS enter into an exclusive and global license agreement to develop drugs targeting a novel Ras-MAPK pathway protein interaction.

August 27, 2024 – Lyon, France

TheraPPI Bioscience SAS (“TheraPPI”), a preclinical biotechnology company focused on developing small molecules that modify protein interactions, announced today the publication of extensive preclinical research in Nature Communications on small molecules that disrupt the ERK/MyD88 interaction. These scientific findings stem from the work of scientists led by Isabelle Coste and Toufic Renno at the Lyon Cancer Research Center (CRCL), in collaboration with Stéphane Giraud at the Center for Drug Discovery and Development (CRCL, Synergy Lyon Cancer Foundation).

“The publication of these results in Nature Communications provides crucial external validation from experts in ERK biology and the cancer field, enhancing visibility within the scientific community” commented Toufic Renno, Ph.D, team leader at the CRCL and CSO at TheraPPI. “Disrupting the ERK/MyD88 interaction directly kills cancer cells, as shown in multiple cancer models in mouse and patient-derived cells, while also triggering an anti-tumor immune response. Achieving this combined effect through a small molecule targeting RAS-MAPK pathway is a highly innovative breakthrough. This powerful discovery has the potential to significantly improve therapies for patients with advanced cancers.”

“Current targeted therapies against RAS-MAPK pathway, primarily enzymatic inhibitors, are effective for treating cancer, but their efficacy is often short-lived and they typically fail to elicit an anti-tumor immune response” stated Luc Otten, MD, Ph.D., CEO of TheraPPI. “The data reported by TheraPPI’s scientific co-founders highlight the potential of inhibiting ERK/MyD88 interaction to revolutionize RAS-MAPK pathway targeting and demonstrate the scientific rationale for developing TheraPPI’s first programme, which focuses on targeting ERK/MyD88 to fight cancer and is currently in non-clinical development stage.”

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