Since its creation in 2017, the Israeli biotechnology company Nectin Therapeutics has been working to develop immuno-oncological therapies for cancer patients. According to the startup itself, its differential therapies have “the potential to set new standards of efficacy and patient response rates in several difficult-to-treat cancers.”
Its medical innovation is based on research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Rijeka, in which it was discovered that, by blocking the PVR protein, highly synthesized by cancer cells, it is possible to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies.
PVR occurs excessively in both breast and uterine cancer, as well as lung and liver cancer, and in these cases, it is very common for resistance to treatment to be found.
Nectin Therapeutics recently reported that its treatment will have its clinical trial in the United States, more precisely at the Ochsner Health medical center in New Orleans and City of Hope, a network of American cancer centers.
Keren Paz, the Development Director of the Israeli startup, stated that “Nectin's innovative portfolio has therapeutic promise for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.” Furthermore, she added that “this transformative potential is proudly driven by dedicated research efforts in Israel, making it very compelling for Nectin to establish trial sites close to home.”