ONCOLOGY & INFLAMMATION
Oncology
4 ways to defeat cancer
Vigeo is focusing on tumors that are largely refractory to approved therapies. Our approach to drug development and treatment is based on targeting both the tumor and the genetically normal cells that comprise the microenvironment, which are less likely to develop mutation-based resistance. Therefore, we believe Vigeo’s therapies can have a significant impact on cancers where other types of therapy have been unsuccessful.
Vigeo is the first, and only, company developing therapies designed to stimulate Tsp-1 expression by replicating the biological activity of prosaposin (PSAP). By triggering the production of TSP-1 and downstream activities via CD36 and CD47, we are reprogramming the tumor microenvironment from one that is immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting, to one that activates the immune system and is tumor-inhibiting.
The anti-tumor activity of Tsp-1 is comprised of four independent mechanisms:
- Directly killing tumor cells that express the CD36 receptor
- Reprogramming macrophages to mount an immune response
- Stimulating the infiltration of T cells
- Inhibiting angiogenesis, the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors
Inflammation
Attacking the roots of neurodegenerative disease
- Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as beta-Amyloid, are implicated in the progression of neuro-inflammatory diseases.
- Research has shown that decreasing levels of endogenous tsp-1 in the brain result in increased levels of beta-amyloid and increased neuronal cell damage.
- Research has also shown that increasing levels of tsp-1 can reverse neuronal cell damage caused by pro-inflammatory cytokines.
- As VT1021 significantly increases endogenous TSP-1 levels in the brain, it is potentially a new and powerful therapy in the treatment of neuro-inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s Disease.
