Birmingham’s Southern Research is making waves in the biotech sector with promising cancer research.
In partnership with PinotBio and Dr. Pankit Vacchani, clinical oncologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, the organization is actively recruiting for a phase I clinical trial for myelo dyspaltic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia.
MDS is a precursor and will often progress to AML, which accounts for roughly 1% of all cancers. American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 20,050 new cases of AML in 2022. Most cases will be in adults.
“An interesting thing about this strategy is that it uses nucleosides to affect methylation patterns in cancerous cells,” Rebecca Boohaker, an associate fellow in the oncology department, said about the trial. “We are working on reimagining how this process (works) in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors and have pre-clinical data to suggest that this strategy could work in solid tumors, thereby expanding the scope of efficacy.”
Southern Research is also collaborating with Suzy Lapi, senior scientist at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, on a project that involves evaluating and developing either therapeutic or diagnostic radiolabeled entities.
“The collaboration with Lapi is critical as we move forward as her tools both increase sensitivity in screening for early detection as well as the possibility to tag radioactive payloads to targeting molecules and proteins to drill down on precision delivery of therapy,” Boohaker said. “With her, we are working to determine if some compounds in a chemical series we have developed can be used as a diagnostic tool. The hope is to open a pipeline of ‘theranostic’ compounds utilizing radiolabeling to improve timelines to treatment.”
The organization has already developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs. A fixture in Birmingham’s Southside for more than 80 years, Southern Research estimates that within its 40-block radius, 3.5 million patients are seen annually and $700 million worth of biomedical research is conducted, including $300 million from the National Institutes of Health, making it the eighth-highest NIH-funded organization nationally per capita. Southern Research is also the highest NIH-funded non-academic research center in Alabama. It consists of nearly 400 scientists and engineers working across four divisions.
