Over 1.8 million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) every year (3rd most common cancer), and over 880,000 will die (2nd most common cancer). While improvements in prevention and screening have led to increased survival over the past several decades, advanced CRC still has a poor prognosis (8% 5-year survival) despite the best therapies. Treatment for CRC relies on non-specific chemotherapy drugs with harsh side effects. Under prior CPRIT academic research & company grants, scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern identified a class of highly specific emopamil binding protein (EBP) inhibitor drugs known as TASINs that target the mutated adenomatous polyposis coli (APC...

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Over 1.8 million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) every year (3rd most common cancer), and over 880,000 will die (2nd most common cancer). While improvements in prevention and screening have led to increased survival over the past several decades, advanced CRC still has a poor prognosis (8% 5-year survival) despite the best therapies. Treatment for CRC relies on non-specific chemotherapy drugs with harsh side effects. Under prior CPRIT academic research & company grants, scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern identified a class of highly specific emopamil binding protein (EBP) inhibitor drugs known as TASINs that target the mutated adenomatous polyposis coli (APCmut) gene present in > 80% of CRC patients. APCmut are one of the earliest & critical gene mutations responsible for initiation & progression of CRC. In animal studies, TASINs significantly reduced tumor growth with minimal toxicity. Barricade has declared the clinical candidate, TASIN-15, planned human studies in 1H2025, with the ultimate goal of defining a safe/effective dose in CRC patients. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the clinical outcomes of CRC patients. By 2040, an estimated 3.2M people will be diagnosed with CRC and ~1.6M will succumb to the disease. The selective nature of (S)-TASIN-15 combined with the prevalence of the APCmut target in CRC makes Barricade's drug an attractive candidate for treating millions of people suffering from CRC worldwide.

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