Seren Bio: Development of DMGV analogs as a first-in-class, small molecule therapy for colorectal cancer

Novel Approaches and New Therapeutic Platforms

Jongdae Lee, PhD

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US and expected to kill more than 53,000 people in 2024. The CRC incidence is rising sharply among people younger than 50 and these cases are often diagnosed at more aggressive stages where the current standard treatments are inadequate. Seren Bio is developing a first-in-class drug that specifically kills cancer cells without harming normal cells based on the fact that all cancer cells consume a large amount of glucose, called glycolysis, to survive and propagate in contrast to normal cells. Our drug will induce a large oxidative burst in cells mainly dependent on glycolysis such as cancer cells, which leads to their demise. We demonstrated a proof of this concept in animals already and now we are working
on improving the efficacy of a potential drug candidate. Because our technology exploits the cellular trait shared by all cancer cells, our success will save a large population of not only colorectal cancer patients who don’t respond to the conventional therapies but also benefit many patients suffering from other types of cancer.

“We discovered the cellular target, a natural ligand, and the mechanism by which in principle we can eliminate all cancer cells without harming normal cells, the holy grail of cancer treatment. We are currently testing newly designed synthetic ligands for improved efficacy and pharmacology. The Curebound funding will accelerate our efforts to advance this endeavor as we currently operate in a small budget of the pre-seed investment.” – Jongdae Lee, PhD