January 07th, 2019, Laekna Therapeutics announced that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for LAE001 was officially approved by Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE), China Food and Drug Administration.

LAE001 is a novel, non-steroid, potent reversible dual inhibitor of Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 17 and CYP11B2. It will be mainly used as the treatment for metastatic prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies in men, and it is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality (after lung cancer). In China, the incidence rate of prostate cancer increases yearly. More than 50% of Chinese patients with prostate cancer already have tumor metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Comparing to the current treatments for prostate cancer, LAE001 has demonstrated robust therapeutic efficacy and better safety profile in US phase I clinical trial. Due to its dual mechanism of inhibition of two critical enzymes for testosterone synthesis, LAE001 does not affect the levels of mineralocorticoid in men, and therefore reduces the risk of cardiovascular toxicity and hepatotoxicity. LAE001 can also be used as a monotherapy without prednisone. It is expected that LAE001 will provide a better treatment option for the patients with prostate cancer after it is launched.  

About Laekna Therapeutics

Founded in December 2016, Laekna Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on innovative drug discovery and development. Targeting large unmet medical needs, Laekna is dedicated to developing new therapies for cancer and liver diseases. The company was founded by Dr. Chris Lu, the CEO, who has over two decades of experience in both small molecule and biologics drug discovery and development. Under his leadership, a team of experienced and energetic drug developers are trying to bring breakthrough medicines to patients.