Linnaeus Therapeutics Scientific Cofounders Publish Preclinical Melanoma Data in eLife Journal

Haddonfield NJ, January 16, 2018 — Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. (“Linnaeus”), a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, small molecule oncology therapeutics, today announced that preclinical data from studies conducted at the University of Pennsylvania by its scientific founders was published in the journal eLife.

The paper, entitled “Activation of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor signaling inhibits melanoma and improves response to immune checkpoint blockade” was authored by Natale, et al.

For decades, research has associated female sex and a history of previous pregnancy with better outcomes after a melanoma diagnosis, but the mechanism for this protective effect has remained a mystery. This publication provides a potential explanation for this melanoma-protective effect. The mechanism is related to a cellular protein called the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). When GPER was activated and combined with anti–PD-1 inhibitor drugs in mouse cancer models, the therapy dramatically extended survival in all animals and completely eliminated the tumor in up to 50 percent of the mice.

“The validation of our science by the acceptance of this paper in eLife underscores the importance of the G protein estrogen receptor (“GPER”) as a therapeutic target,” said Patrick Mooney, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Linnaeus. “This data clearly demonstrates that using LNS8801 to target GPER should have therapeutic effects in various cancers, and we are excited to move this toward human studies in the future.”

About Linnaeus

Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, small molecule oncology therapeutics that target a novel G protein-coupled receptor, known as GPER, or GPR30. The company was launched through the UPstart incubator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) Ventures. Its lead molecule, LNS8801, is in the final stages of preclinical development. The Company expects to begin its phase 1 clinical program in the summer of 2019. In addition to developing GPER agonists, Linnaeus is also currently focusing on developing small molecules that activate other G protein-coupled receptors to engage tumor-suppressive cellular signaling pathways.

Contact

Patrick Mooney
Chief Executive Officer
(856) 433-1300
pmooney@linnaeustx.com