BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Expansion into TNBC

How RNA-binding small molecules could sensitize TNBC to targeted therapies

February 22, 2019 2:47 AM UTC

With an RNA-binding small molecule that sensitizes HER2-negative cancers to Herceptin, Matt Disney’s latest study adds to the growing arsenal of preclinical therapies against triple-negative breast cancer. The only problem is the molecule may run the risk of worsening a patient’s cancer before making it better.

Disney has been a pioneer in the growing field of RNA-binding small molecules, a technology that takes on the long-standing dogma that RNA is poorly druggable by conventional modalities. Disney spun out Expansion Therapeutics Inc. from The Scripps Research Institute, where he is a professor of chemistry and neuroscience, to develop treatments for RNA-expansion diseases. Last year, Expansion raised $55.3 million in a series A round co-led by 5AM Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Novartis Venture Fund and Sanofi Ventures...