Bringing Patient Biology into Early Drug Development

Understanding which patients are most likely to benefit from a new therapy as early as possible is key for designing more efficient clinical trials, reducing development risk, and ultimately ensuring that patients receive treatments that are more likely to work for them. This only becomes more important when developing a truly innovative, new type of cancer therapy. That’s why Cumulus Oncology, the developers of a new type of small molecule-based therapy to potentially treat colorectal cancers, is teaming up with Oncode Accelerator.

Creating the Right Conditions for Early-Stage Cancer Drug Development

Cumulus Oncology is a Scottish based biotech company with an innovative business model. “Many biotech companies arise from one platform technology, asset or target, whereas Cumulus builds its pipeline via partnering and asset acquisition activities in a platform-agnostic manner,” Clare Doris, Chief Development Officer at Cumulus Oncology, explains. “Our founder Clare Wareing saw the potential to build a therapeutic pipeline in a nimble, flexible and opportunistic way that offers a high degree of optionality on individual programs.”

For Tilly Bingham, Executive in Residence at Cumulus Oncology, that flexibility is part of the appeal. With 25 years’ experience across large pharma, start-ups, and CROs, she sees her senior scientific leadership roles at Cumulus as the place where she can make the biggest impact. “I’ve tried out all different kinds of scientific leadership roles, and for me, biotech is the most attractive because I really feel that I can make a difference. At Cumulus, I can use my preclinical drug discovery expertise to oversee a program from inception to investigational new drug – where a therapy in development enters phase 1 clinical trials. Once a program reaches phase 1 clinical trials, the scientific focus shifts to medical expertise. What attracted me to Cumulus is that, because we have a broad range of opportunities, when a project enters phase 1 and my expertise isn’t needed as much anymore, I can move into another program that really excites me.”

Amongst several ongoing drug development programs is one project that centers on a newly identified cancer target with the potential to address unmet needs that current therapies cannot. To realize the potential of this project, Clare and Tilly are determined to move beyond traditional laboratory models and integrate patient-relevant biology early on. This should ultimately increase the chance that the right patients will receive the treatment – and is the challenge that led them to Oncode Accelerator.

A Novel Target, and New Challenges

One of the ongoing drug development programs at Cumulus Oncology focuses on a novel cancer target: a proton-sensing G protein–coupled receptor called GPR68. This receptor has an important role in a process called acidosis, in which tumors create an acidic environment around themselves. This acidity can affect how cancer cells behave and how they respond to treatment. The team at Cumulus Oncology is now developing a small molecule-based therapy to tweak the responses of GPR68 to the acidic environment and thereby change the behavior of cancer cells.

Focusing on this biology could enable development of more precise therapies that can target tumors that standard treatments may not effectively reach. But with novelty often comes uncertainty. Tilly explains: “We have identified a novel target for cancer therapies, and that presents exciting opportunities – but it also presents new challenges. Because it’s new, we need to work out which patients will best benefit from the new treatment that we are developing.”

Using Organoids to Bring Patient Biology into Early Drug Development

To do this, the Cumulus Oncology team wants to use organoids: mini organs grown in the lab from real patient material. “The latest developments in organoids, a complex in vitro lab model, give us the opportunity to identify which patients could benefit from our novel therapy very early on in our discovery process,” Tilly states.

Organoids are useful for cancer research and therapy development because they closely mimic the biology of real patients’ tumors in the lab. This allows researchers to test how different cancers and different patients respond to a given therapy in a relatively realistic way, long before it reaches clinical trials. “And that has benefits for everybody,” Tilly adds. “There are benefits for our company in that we can design more efficient clinical trials, and there are benefits for patients in that we can select patients to include in clinical trials who are likely to have the most benefit from participating.”

To gain these benefits, the Cumulus Oncology team will partner with the Organoids Platform of Oncode Accelerator through a new Demonstrator Project. In particular, the team at Cumulus will be working with the research group of Onno Kranenburg at the University Medical Center Utrecht, who has developed a unique organoid-fibroblast co-culture model. “After our first discussion with Onno, we could already see a clear expertise in colorectal cancer, and the models that he’s worked on to date fit so perfectly with the scientific questions we are trying to answer,” recalls Clare. “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with him.”

A Connected Network, Not a One-Off Collaboration

The Demonstrator Project also connects Cumulus Oncology to Oncode Accelerator’s Small Molecules Workstream. Within the Small Molecules Workstream, the Cumulus team will be working with Symeres. “Symeres has a very strong reputation for quality in delivery within Europe,” comments Tilly. “Once we have identified the candidate that we want to move forward as we progress towards the clinic, we will need to develop chemistry for how we can manufacture that candidate in the most efficient way.” With their strong expertise in key parts of the drug development process like process research, development chemistry, and solid state assessment, Symeres is an ideal partner to support on these essential steps in advancing a new therapy towards clinical trials.

For Cumulus Oncology, the value in joining the Oncode Accelerator oncology ecosystem goes beyond this single Demonstrator Project. “This collaboration opens the door to future Demonstrator Projects and partnerships,” Clare notes.

The openness of the program and its offering of not only access to infrastructure and innovations but also project management support also made it attractive. Clare elaborates: “The way of working allows flexibility in collaboration, support on routine tasks as well as on accessing innovations, and the possibility to work with experts on an ‘at-cost’ basis. This makes it possible to test the use of innovations like organoids in our drug development pipelines.” This supports an important goal of Oncode Accelerator: validating that embedding innovations like organoids into the drug development process can accelerate and improve cancer therapy development.

A Partnership That’s More Than the Sum of its Parts

The partnership is deliberately two-directional. The experts at Cumulus Oncology see the potential of collaborating with a large national initiative like Oncode Accelerator, as Clare states: “What’s available through the Oncode Accelerator ecosystem, with all these different institutes, is a really powerful kind of collaboration that’s been put together. It’s not just us that should benefit, but many other early-stage biotech companies at a similar stage to ourselves.”

While Cumulus benefits from Oncode Accelerator’s technologies, they also contribute practical insight into the real-world needs of early-stage biotech companies. “Initiatives like Oncode Accelerator often develop novel technologies, but may not fully understand the use base,” Tilly explains. Cumulus Oncology’s robust experience in how companies can best use innovative technologies and platforms is therefore beneficial knowledge to bring into the Oncode Accelerator Ecosystem. “We can help articulate what companies need to move projects forward, and test those technologies in relevant contexts together.”

That feedback loop is mutually beneficial. “The FDA and other regulatory agencies are pushing for these novel technologies to be used, so we know it won’t just be us working with the Oncode Accelerator Organoids Platform,” Tilly reflects. “So our collaboration won’t just benefit our company. The Organoids Platform will mature through our contributions, and other companies will then benefit as well. Everybody wins.”

A Shared Ambition: Impact for Patients

For Clare and Tilly, success means advancing a therapy into Phase I trials. “My personal goal,” says Clare, “is for something we created from the ground up to reach patients.”  

Collaborations that are scientifically rigorous, patient-focused, and designed for efficient translation into the clinic bring us closer to that goal, together.  

About Cumulus Oncology

Founded in 2020, Cumulus Oncology continues to build a platform-agnostic asset portfolio with high value potential, via partnerships and a proactive asset search function. This enables regular portfolio prioritisation and expansion opportunities which in turn enriches for assets with the highest chance of success. Cumulus Oncology’s success is underpinned by a team of experts with impressive track records in successful drug commercialisation and a demonstrated ability to pick and prioritise those assets most likely to succeed. A focus on the generation of data for prioritisation decisions is underpinned by a capitally efficient and disciplined programme execution. Cumulus Oncology seeks to deliver differentiated, impactful treatments for patients, resulting in significant returns for their shareholders. 

Website: https://cumulusoncology.com/