Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Announces Research Partnership with St. Vincent’s University Hospital to Evaluate COTI-2

Cotinga Pharmaceuticals (TSXV:COT) has announced it has entered into a research collaboration with St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland to evaluate COTI-2 combined with eribulin in patients with triple negative metastatic breast cancer.

As quoted in the press release:

“Cotinga is committed to the development of therapies for a wide range of cancers, and our collaboration with St. Vincent’s University Hospital represents an important step towards realizing the full potential of our lead compound, COTI-2,” said Dr. Richard Ho, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer. “Throughout this year we presented preclinical and early clinical results that support COTI-2 as a possible combination therapy, and this partnership with St. Vincent’s will allow us to further explore how COTI-2 may work alongside the standard of care in cancers with severe unmet medical need.”

The Phase 1 study will aim to evaluate COTI-2 in combination with eribulin in the second or subsequent line therapy of patients with triple negative metastatic breast cancer. The primary objectives of the study will be to determine the optimal tolerated dose of COTI-2 that can be added to standard dose eribulin in the second or subsequent line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and to assess the safety and tolerability of COTI-2 when administered with eribulin.

“Triple-negative metastatic breast cancer is a serious and difficult-to-treat disease that tends to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer,” said Professor John Crown, M.D., M.B.A., consultant medical oncologist at St. Vincent’s University Hospital. “Our research demonstrates that the p53 gene is mutated in approximately 80% of triple-negative tumors, and suggests that mutant p53 has potential as a therapeutic target. We are encouraged by early data from COTI-2, which targets mutant p53, and having seen synergy in our own preclinical testing of COTI-2 and eribulin, we look forward to evaluating the compound in combination with standard of care for patients with triple negative metastatic breast cancer.”

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