GenSpera, Inc. (OTCBB:GNSZ) has entered into a cooperation agreement with the University of Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, to collaborate on the "SPOTLight" (Sustainable Production of Thapsigargin using Light) project. The goal of the project is to develop a metabolically engineered moss strain as a sustainable production platform for high-value plant products. Production of thapsigargin has been chosen as the first pilot project.
“The SPOTLight project is designed to produce high yields of thapsigargin in genetically modified moss cells”
Under the terms of the agreement, GenSpera has obtained an exclusive, milestone- and royalty-free, fully paid license to the moss cell lines necessary to generate thapsigargin or its chemical precursors if the thapsigargin aspect of the project is successful.
Thapsigargin, the active ingredient in GenSpera's oncology platform, is isolated from the Mediterranean plant, Thapsia garganica. Currently, seeds from the plant are harvested annually to supply starting materials for drug manufacture. G-202, the lead drug in GenSpera's prodrug platform, is in a Phase I trial at three medical centers, in patients whose cancer has returned after other treatments. The company is also developing G-115 for prostate cancer. Both drugs utilize a derivative of thapsigargin on a prodrug platform, which renders it inactive until encountering the selected target.
"The SPOTLight project is designed to produce high yields of thapsigargin in genetically modified moss cells," said Craig Dionne, PhD, GenSpera President and CEO. "It is just one aspect of our global strategy for securing a stable, year-round source of inexpensive thapsigargin for drug manufacture. We also have an ongoing project for aeroponic growth of the plant, as well as traditional cultivation methods, which we believe can supply needs for the foreseeable future."
We could also use SPOTLight," Dr. Dionne went on to say, "to obtain the chemical precursors of thapsigargin which will enable us to synthesize compounds with possibly greater potency for killing cancer cells."
The SPOTLight project is primarily funded by an amount of Danish kroner (DKK) 18.3M (approximately $3.5M USD) grant from The Danish Council for Strategic Research and an additional $100K grant from GenSpera. The project is directed by Søren Brøgger Christensen, PhD, Professor at the University of Copenhagen, a member of GenSpera's Scientific Advisory Board and the scientist responsible for the initial isolation and characterization of thapsigargin.
Dr. Christensen commented, "After a lifetime of studying the properties of this remarkable plant, I am delighted that GenSpera has taken a derivative of thapsigargin into clinical development and we are pleased to partner with them. I am pleased that the Danish Council for Strategic Research has recognized the potential of developing sustainable protocols for producing valuable natural products and agrees that thapsigargin is a relevant model compound."
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