A new Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance by Insilico Medicine for its potential lead candidate ISM6331 has raised the potential of a breakthrough in mesothelioma treatment.
The drug, which received an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in June 2024, highlights the urgent necessity for innovative treatments that focus on rare conditions such as mesothelioma.
The Potential of ISM6331
Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, originates in the mesothelium, a lining that surrounds and protects vital organs. Since traditional treatments offer only modest long-term advantages, with median survival rates at diagnosis of 9–12 months, there remains an urgent need for new therapeutic strategies.
The first-in-class pan-TEAD inhibitor, ISM6331, blocks the function of all TEAD family proteins – essential transcription factors that control the Hippo signaling pathway. By counteracting these proteins, it suppresses tumor growth, metastasis and drug resistance.
ISM6331 could be a ray of hope for mesothelioma patients. The particular drug also represents an entirely new approach through which treatment might be obtained, either by virtue of augmenting established modalities or as offering an ability spot for the non-responders.
