Blocking POLQ for PARP inhibitor-resistant cancer; plus Innovative Molecules’ herpes simplex therapy

Two studies in Nature journals published this week showcased the potential of POLQ inhibition to treat cancers resistant to PARP inhibitors. In a Nature Communications paper, Artios Pharma Ltd. reported POLQ inhibitor ART812 decreased tumor growth in a rat model of PARP-resistant, BRCA-mutant breast cancer. A second POLQ inhibitor, ART558, increased sensitivity to marketed PARP inhibitor Lynparza olaparib in resistant, BRCA-mutant human colorectal cancer cells. Artios is among a group of companies hoping to build on the success of PARP inhibitors in BRCA-mutant cancers by targeting other synthetically lethal target-biomarker pairs.

Separately, researchers from Harvard Medical School and Institut Curie identified the antibiotic novobiocin through a screen for POLQ inhibitors and showed the compound increased sensitivity to Lynparza in mice with PARP-resistant, BRCA-mutant ovarian tumors. The findings were published in Nature Cancer...