NeoCura & PhoreMost Announce Research Collaboration to Explore Novel Cancer Therapeutics

NeoCura Bio-Medical Technology Co., Ltd. and PhoreMost Limited recently announced an oncology drug discovery research collaboration. As part of the collaboration, PhoreMost’s SITESEEKER phenotypic screening platform and NeoCura’s full-process RNA drug design platform will be used to investigate the cellular delivery and efficacy of encoded targeted peptides. In this way, the research aims to inform and advance the research and development of innovative anti-cancer therapies.

PhoreMost’s SITESEEKER platform can identify the best new therapeutic targets for any chosen disease setting, and rapidly identify how to develop novel drugs to these targets. This has the potential to significantly increase the diversity of novel treatments for cancer and other unmet diseases. Based on proprietary protein interference, or PROTEINi, technology, PhoreMost uses SITESEEKER to probe the entire proteome in a live cell environment for novel druggable targets linked to any chosen disease. This enables the systematic discovery of functionally active peptides which are directly linked to useful therapeutic applications. NeoCura has world-class RNA technology, which can significantly increase the expression efficiency of RNA cargo and improve its in vivo delivery to target tissues.

Dr. Wang Yi, Founder and CEO of NeoCura, said “NeoCura is pleased to establish a collaborative partnership with PhoreMost. We are deeply impressed by PhoreMost’s excellent protein interference technology platform and unique target mining capabilities. It is believed that with the leading RNA drug research and development capability of NeoCura and cutting-edge SITESEEKER technology of PhoreMost, more therapeutic potential will be released in the field of research and development of RNA drugs, and the translational process of anti-cancer drugs will be greatly accelerated. Meanwhile, NeoCura also hopes to join hands with more industry leaders in the vigorous development of biomedicine in China.”

Dr. Chris Torrance, CEO, PhoreMost, added “This partnership demonstrates the versatility of PhoreMost’s SITESEEKER platform, and the range of innovative drug discovery programs it can work within. NeoCura’s platform complements PhoreMost’s capabilities to unmask cryptic druggable sites across the entire human proteome. RNA delivery of novel therapeutics represents an exciting opportunity for PhoreMost as we aim to significantly increase the diversity and affordability of novel therapeutics for cancer and other unmet diseases.”

NeoCura, a R&D based China biotech featuring AI-empowered RNA precision medicine. Founded in 2017, NeoCura is committed to building a global leading RNA innovative drug research and development enterprise. NeoCura brings together the world’s top scientists, senior industry experts and first-class academic consultants in AI bioinformatics, tumor immunity, new vaccine research and development, drug delivery, nucleic acid carriers and other areas. The core R&D team includes dozens of doctoral/postdoctoral fellows from prestigious schools such as Harvard, Cambridge, Cornell, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Currently pipelines under development cover tumor neoantigen vaccines, tumor microenvironment immunomodulator, virus vaccine and other directions. NeoCura also built a leading RNA drug manufacturing center in China to fulfill R&D and clinical needs.

With its multiple leading technologies, outstanding innovation capability and robust oncology pipelines, NeoCura is recognized as one of the Most Promising Enterprise in China and Top 10 China AI/Algorithm Innovative Pharmaceutical Enterprise in 2021.

PhoreMost has developed a next-generation phenotypic screening platform called SITESEEKER that can discern the best new targets for future therapy and crucially, how to drug them, which has the potential to significantly increase the diversity and affordability of novel therapeutics for cancer and other unmet diseases. Based on the Company’s core proprietary Protein Interference technology, SITESEEKER systematically unmasks cryptic druggable sites across the entire human genome and directly links them to useful therapeutic functions in a live-cell context. Using this platform, PhoreMost is building a pipeline of novel drug discovery programmes aimed at addressing a range of unmet diseases.