Study published on new drug class targeting ACVR1 mutation for DIPG

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, along with colleagues at the Structural Genomics Consortium in Oxford, have published their findings on a new drug class that can kill brain cancer cells with mutations in the ACVR1 gene and shrink tumours in mice. Mutated versions of the ACVR1 gene are found in the deadly childhood brain cancer ‘diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma’ (DIPG).

The study is published in the Open Access journal Communications Biology and was funded by Abbie’s Army, Children with Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK and the DIPG collaborative.

M4K Pharma will take on the development of the ACVR1 inhibitor drugs for DIPG, with clinical trials expected in 2021.

For more: New treatment could become first ever targeted therapy designed for ‘untreatable’ childhood brain cancer