Race Oncology Ltd’s (ASX:RAC) now-completed drug discovery program, run at Melbourne’s Monash University, allows it to identify 39 unique molecules which bind to – and have the potential to inhibit – a protein associated with cancers.

The protein, known as FTO (Fatso or FaT and Obesity associated protein), plays a key role in regulating m6A RNA levels, with several cancers being associated with deregulation of this process.

The scientific and pharmaceutical communities are thus strongly interested in the development of FTO-inhibitor drugs due to their potential as cancer treatments.

Race commissioned Monash University’s Fragment Platform (MFP) to conduct an NMR-based fragment screen to identify unique chemical structures which bind to the FTO or ALKBH proteins (the latter being a protein family with similarities to FTO).

From this, 39 new FTO-binding molecules were picked up, with their binding properties confirmed by multiple NMR methods and surface plasmon resonance.

Vice President of Research Professor Mike Kelso said this was a significant milestone for Race.

“Identification of chemical ‘hits’ that bind to a protein target of interest is a critical step in modern drug discovery,” he said.

“Our successful FTO program at Monash provides Race with valuable new IP in the RNA epigenetics space, an enormously exciting area at the cutting-edge of oncology research and drug development.”

Race shares have been higher since the news, and at 11:31 AEDT, they were trading at $1.40 – a rise of 2.94% since the market opened.

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