Better cancer care depends on better treatment options. That's why the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is supporting four Ontario-based research teams working to develop the next generation of cancer therapies that are designed to be more effective at destroying tumors, have reduced side effects, and make cancer less likely to return. These projects take aim at breast and ovarian cancers, a hard-to-treat form of leukemia, the most aggressive form of the most common childhood brain cancer and a 'master regulator' protein that plays a role in many different cancers.
OICR is giving these research teams a boost through its Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) program, by providing them collectively with $3.1 million over two years to help advance promising drug discovery research in Ontario.
Side effects and drug resistance are some of the most serious problems that a person with cancer can face during their treatment. These CTIP grants are an important part of our efforts to make a tangible difference for patients in these areas by investing in these projects and their enormous potential."
Dr. Lincoln Stein, Acting Scientific Director, OICR
"Patients need faster access to new, cutting-edge therapies that offer better options and outcomes. Too many patients still face limited or ineffective treatments, or must endure severe side effects that seriously impact their quality of life," said Terry Hawrysh, CTIP patient partner. "OICR funded CTIP grants play a valuable role in identifying solutions that could address these challenges through innovative discovery and eventual clinical use, and bring much needed hope to the cancer patient community."
"Ontario-made research is saving and transforming lives," said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. "Our government is proud to support the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and applaud their Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline that ensures Ontario's world-class researchers can keep developing live-saving cancer treatments that protect our loved ones."
The new studies announced today bolster the growing portfolio of initiatives supported through OICR's Therapeutic Innovation research theme. In addition to supporting therapeutics research through CTIP, OICR hosts one of Canada's largest drug discovery programs and collaborates with institutions across the province to help bring transformative cancer therapies to patients faster.
Applications to CTIP undergo rigorous review by an expert panel from academia and industry, who also provide scientific and strategic guidance to awarded teams. Research groups funded through CTIP pursue innovative therapeutic approaches inspired by new insights into cancer biology. Through this they are delivering new ways to prevent the spread of cancer, minimize side effects for patients and overcome resistance to current treatments.
The awarded projects in this CTIP funding round are:
Inhibiting oncogenic transcription factor-cofactor interaction
Dr. David Andrews, Sunnybrook Research Institute
This project aims to drug a powerful cancer-driving "master regulator" protein that is linked to poor patient outcomes and currently has no approved targeted therapies. By breaking its interaction with a stabilizing partner protein-an approach inspired by recent successes targeting previously "undruggable" proteins-the team has shown they can trigger rapid destruction of the cancer driver and selectively kill cancer cells. The team plans to expand and optimize its compound screening to develop a first-in-class therapy for patients whose tumors depend on this protein, opening a new treatment strategy for cancers that currently lack effective options.
Targeting breast and ovarian cancer: New "frankenprotein" drugs against old diseases
Dr. Jumi Shin, University of Toronto (Mississauga)
This project is developing a new class of drugs that can enter cancer cells and disrupt a major cancer network that is active in more than 70 per cent of tumors and that has resisted conventional drug approaches. These protein-based drugs are called "frankenproteins" by the research team because they are 'stitched' together from modules of different proteins. Early versions of these drugs slowed tumor growth in aggressive triple-negative breast cancer models, and improved versions appear even more potent and well tolerated. If successful, these next-generation protein therapies could offer safer and more effective treatments for hard-to-treat breast and ovarian cancers, particularly for patients who have limited options or resistance-prone disease.
From surface profiling to precision therapy in leukemia
Dr. Anastasia Tikhonova, University Health Network
This research seeks to create the first targeted therapies for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), an aggressive blood cancer with poor outcomes when chemotherapy fails. By identifying a surface marker found on leukemia cells but largely absent from healthy immune cells, the team aims to design antibody drugs or engineered immune cells that selectively attack cancer while sparing normal T-cells. If successful, this precision approach could deliver more effective and less toxic treatments for children and adults with relapsed or treatment-resistant T-ALL.
A therapeutic strategy targeting lipid metabolism: The discovery of novel BBB-penetrable inhibitors for treatment of medulloblastoma
Dr. Sheila Singh, McMaster University
This project targets a metabolic vulnerability in Group 3 medulloblastoma, the most aggressive form of the most common malignant childhood brain tumor, by blocking an enzyme essential for tumor fat production but not for normal neural stem cells. The team will develop the first orally available inhibitors of this enzyme capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, overcoming a major challenge in treating brain cancers. This strategy has the potential to improve survival, reduce reliance on toxic radiation and chemotherapy, and offer new hope to children whose disease is resistant to current treatments.
Patients who stop GLP-1 drugs often restart or try alternatives