NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to enhancing treatment outcomes for cancer patients through innovative therapies. The company is focused on developing new anti-cancer agents that leverage its proprietary phosphoramidate technology. This technology aims to create more effective and safer medicines, particularly targeting patients who are resistant to existing treatments, such as PD-1 inhibitors. NuCana's lead candidates, NUC-7738 and NUC-3373, are designed to potentiate the effects of immunotherapy, potentially leading to prolonged progression-free survival and durable responses in patients who have not responded to traditional therapies.

The mission of NuCana is to significantly improve survival outcomes for cancer patients and to pioneer advancements in oncology. The company is led by a seasoned management team with extensive experience in drug development and commercialization, positioning it well to navigate the complexities of bringing new therapies to market. Through its innovative approach and commitment to research, NuCana aims to change the standards of care across a broad range of cancers, ultimately striving to unlock the full potential of immunotherapy in oncology.

United Kingdom

NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer by applying our phosphoramidate chemistry technology to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents into more effective and safer medicines.

While these conventional agents remain part of the standard of care for the treatment of many solid tumours, their efficacy is limited by cancer cell resistance mechanisms and they are often poorly tolerated. Utilising our proprietary ProTide technology, we are developing new medicines designed to overcome key cancer resistance mechanisms and generate much higher concentrations of anti-cancer metabolites in cancer cells. 

Cancer

Nucana

Melanoma

Solid tumor/s

NUC-7738 is a ProTide transformation of 3'-deoxyadenosine (3'-dA), also known as cordycepin. 3’-dA has demonstrated potent anti-cancer activity in non-clinical studies, but has not been successfully developed as a chemotherapy due to its rapid breakdown by adenosine deaminase (ADA). Similar to our other ProTides, NUC-7738 is designed to generate the active anti-cancer metabolites of 3’-dA directly inside cancer cells, bypassing the key resistance mechanisms of breakdown, transportation and activation. Translational work has indicated that the mono-, di- and triphosphate metabolites of NUC-7738 exert various effects which may all contribute to its anti-cancer activity.

NUC-7738 (ProTide) +/- pembrolizumab

Lung cancer

NUC-3373 is a ProTide transformation of 5-FU that generates much higher concentrations of FUDR-MP in patients’ cells. NUC-3373 also has a more convenient administration schedule and does not produce toxic levels of metabolites such as FBAL which results in an improved safety profile.
 
5-FU (and its other forms including capecitabine) is an inactive pro-drug and its anti-cancer activity is dependent on conversion to the active anti-cancer metabolite (FUDR-MP), which binds to and inhibits thymidylate synthase (TS), a critical enzyme in de novo nucleotide synthesis and cell survival. TS is required to convert uridine (specifically dUMP) to thymidine (specifically dTMP), one of the four nucleotides that comprise DNA. The inhibition of TS results in an imbalance in the ratio of dUMP and dTMP, disrupting DNA synthesis and repair, ultimately leading to cancer cell death. However, due to multiple limitations, 5-FU is not efficiently converted to FUDR-MP. NUC-3373 is a ProTide transformation of 5-FU that generates much higher concentrations of FUDR-MP in patients’ cells. NUC-3373 also has a more convenient administration schedule and does not produce toxic levels of metabolites such as FBAL which results in an improved safety profile.
<a href="http://www.nucana.com/nuc3373.html">Source</a>

NUC-3373 (ProTide) combo w/ pembrolizumab

Colorectal cancer

NUC-3373 (ProTide) combo w/ irinotecan/bevacizumab/oxaliplatin 

Biliary Tract Cancer

Acelarin, our most advanced ProTide, is being evaluated in a global Phase III study for the treatment of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer. The cytotoxic effect of gemcitabine on cancer cells is attributed to the generation of the triphosphate form of gemcitabine, known as dFdCTP. In cancer cells, dFdCTP interferes with DNA replication causing cancer cell death and preventing tumour growth. However, cancer resistance mechanisms can prevent gemcitabine from generating sufficient levels of dFdCTP inside cancer cells. Acelarin is comprised of gemcitabine and a phosphoramidate moiety (a phosphate group and a specific combination of aryl, ester and amino acid groups). The addition of the phosphoramidate moiety changes the chemical properties of Acelarin, compared to gemcitabine, resulting in a molecule that can enter the cancer cell independently of nucleoside transporters, is protected from breakdown by deaminases, and, delivers the pre-activated form of gemcitabine. By overcoming the key cancer resistance mechanisms associated with gemcitabine, Acelarin is able to generate and maintain significantly higher concentrations of the active anti-cancer metabolite (dFdCTP) inside tumour cells.

Nucana

Company Details