Biotechnology company Outrun Therapeutics has announced its lead programme for the treatment of HPV positive head and neck cancer. 

The company has selected an E6AP inhibitor strategy as the lead programme from its first-in-class therapeutic pipeline, developed through its proprietary XL discovery platform. The platform has been used to profile over 45 diverse E3 ligases across a wide range of indications in oncology, neurology, cardiovascular and auto-immune diseases.  

E6AP is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that regulates the expression of a key tumour suppressor protein in HPV positive cancers, such as head and neck cancer. Inhibiting this enzyme could be a first-in-class strategy to directly stabilise tumour suppressor protein levels, paving the way to a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.  

HPV positive cancers account for around 4.5% of cancers worldwide, with the global market size expected to exceed $14 billion by 2031. 

“Outrun’s mission is to develop protein stabilising therapeutics to treat disease, and the selection of our lead programme, for the treatment of HPV positive head and neck cancer, is an important milestone in our journey,” said Dr Tony Johnson, Board Chair and Interim CEO of Outrun Therapeutics. 

“This is a massively underserved patient population, and we are confident that our novel approach to protein stabilisation offers a breakthrough route to bringing meaningful treatments to those in need.”