Dracen Pharmaceuticals announces oral presentation at Festival of Biologics World Immunotherapy Congress 2022


Dracen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical stage biotech company developing anti-cancer drugs that target immuno-metabolism, announced today the company will be presenting an update on the preclinical work and ongoing Phase 1/2a, first-in-human study (FIH) of DRP-104, a broad glutamine antagonist, at the upcoming Festival of Biologics World Immunotherapy Congress and World Antibody Congress taking place March 9 – 11, 2022 in San Diego, California.

Dracen Chief Scientific Officer Robert Wild, PhD, will discuss how “Sirpiglenastat (DRP-104), a broad acting glutamine antagonist, metabolically reprograms glutamine addicted cancer cells and significantly remodels the tumor microenvironment leading to anti-tumor immune responses” on Wednesday, March 9 at 2:20 p.m.

“Sirpiglenastat has a novel mechanism of action, and in multiple preclinical models representing various tumor types, it demonstrated profound single agent effects including cures,” said Robert Wild, PhD, Dracen’s chief scientific officer. “As immuno-metabolism is an emerging field of study in oncology, we look forward to sharing information on the translation of Dracen’s promising preclinical data into the clinic.”

About DRP-104

Our lead glutamine antagonist, DRP-104 (sirpiglenastat), is currently in early-stage clinical development. The mechanisms of action for DRP-104 include a) direct inhibition of tumor cell addiction to glutamine metabolism leading to substantial single agent activity and tumor regression; b) broad metabolic remodeling of the tumor microenvironment leading to enhanced anti-tumor immune activity; and c) stimulation of T effector, NK and NKT cells and inhibition of immunosuppressive MDSC and macrophage cells, leading to greater long-term durable responses and survival.

About Dracen Pharmaceuticals

Dracen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held biotech company developing proprietary anti-cancer drugs that target immuno-metabolism. Dracen’s investors include Deerfield Management; i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio); Osage University Partners; and The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS (IOCB Prague). Dracen has operations in New York, NY and San Diego, CA.

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