News & Events

Our collaborative effort with the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Qana Therapeutics will be described in an upcoming Bioconjugate Chemistry article in which high-density lipoprotein-like nanoparticles with a benzarubicin payload exhibit specificity for Ewing sarcoma cells without enhanced toxicity in cardiomyocytes. US patent 11,666,589 was awarded to Paradox Pharmaceuticals for a novel formulation of pivarubicin and benzarubicin for use in the treatment of human triple-negative breast cancer. The effective treatment of Ewing Sarcoma with anthracycline-based chemotherapy is impeded by both the development of multidrug resistance and the risk of irreversible cardiac damage. A research team at The University of North Texas Health Science Center led by Andras Lacko and Nirupama Sabnis have developed a targeted nanoparticle that enhances drug delivery to Ewing sarcoma by binding to SR-BI high density lipoprotein receptors overexpressed on the surface of tumor cells. This team has further enhanced the efficacy of their nanoparticles through the transport of benzarubicin (AD 198), a protein-kinase C activating anthracycline, developed by Paradox Pharmaceuticals, which bypasses multiple mechanisms of antitumor drug resistance and is both non-cardiotoxic and cardioprotective. Portions of these findings will be presented in April at the Annual Meeting of AACR in New Orleans and Experimental Biology 2022 (ASBMB) in Philadelphia. Pivarubicin, an anti-tumor agent under development by Paradox Pharmaceuticals, will be presented at the upcoming American College of Cardiology meeting, “Advancing The Cardiovascular Care of The Oncology Patient”. The invited presentation is entitled, “Pivarubicin is superior to doxorubicin in efficacy and cardiac safety against triple-negative breast cancer in vivo”. Paradox Pharmaceuticals opens an Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) file with the FDA for development of daunomustine to treat canine lymphoma. Daunomustine, with antitumor activities of doxorubicin and alkylating agents, combined in a single molecule, demonstrates efficacy against a wide variety of experimental tumors without the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin. Pivarubicin demonstrates superior efficacy over doxorubicin against human triple-negative breast cancer model system while exhibiting no cardiac damage. Read published results: Paradox Pharmaceuticals begins collaboration with Dr. Nick Laribee (University of Tennessee Health Science Center) on benzarubicin modulation of growth signaling and its potential effect on cancer cell growth. US Provisional patent filed for pivarubicin treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.