With high failure rates in neurodegenerative and metabolic disease research, Cantabio Pharmaceuticals is working to close the gap with the development of novel therapeutics and a diagnostic platform for biochemical stress. NR Times speaks to CEO Gergely Toth to find out more.
Founded in 2015, Cantabio Pharmaceuticals has been working to develop novel therapies to reduce the harmful effects of biochemical stress, which contributes to a wide range of diseases as well as neurodegeneration.
The company is aiming to prevent and slow resulting diseases by developing novel disease-modifying therapeutics.
Notably, Cantabio has developed a diagnostic platform using the DJ-1 protein – a vital protein for protecting cells against oxidative stress – to measure oxidative stress, with applications in male infertility and other areas.
“Our therapeutics are first-in-class approaches with novel mechanisms of action,” explains Toth.
“We have developed and applied our own drug discovery technologies, and we target genetically validated proteins – protein targets where mutations in humans are known to result in early familial forms of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.
This gives us a distinctive research approach.
Cantabio has developed early therapeutic candidates for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes, having completed proof of concept studies in animal models, with plans to now move the studies into the clinic.
Cantabio’s diagnostic platform was developed from the company’s therapeutic research with the DJ-1 protein.
“DJ-1 has an unoxidised form and an oxidised form, and it responds very readily to oxidative stress in cells,” says Toth.
“By quantifying these forms, we can measure a person’s relative oxidative damage. This provides a personalised diagnostic measure with multiple applications. For example, oxidative damage in sperm is linked to male infertility, so we have developed a sperm test in addition to our neurological focus.
“For Parkinson’s disease, we have two projects. One is a neuroprotective compound targeting DJ-1, which we hope will be in the clinic within two years. Another is a protein-based programme that will take at least three and a half years to reach the clinic if all goes well.
“For Alzheimer’s side, we have a tau protein programme that is around three years from clinical entry.”
Toth explains that one of the challenges for start ups is securing investment or grants, making initial progress slow.
This is a particular challenge in neurodegenerative diseases, where clinical trials have seen high failure rates, for example, Alzheimer’s candidate treatments have been reported to have 99 per cent failure rate.
“Our programmes are ambitious, and the major challenge, alongside the science, is raising sufficient funds. Bringing just one of these therapeutics into the clinic requires US$20m to US$50m,” says Toth.
“As you gather more data and validate your approach, people become more willing to fund you.
“This is particularly important in neurodegenerative diseases, where there has been so much failure in clinical trials. Both investors and large pharmaceutical companies are understandably reluctant to commit.
“I might speak to one hundred investors and ninety will not even engage, citing the history of failure. Perhaps ten will listen, and one or two may genuinely consider investing.
“This situation has changed somewhat thanks to recent breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research, both diagnostic and therapeutic, which have made investors more open.
“Still, if you look at large pharmaceutical companies, only a few such as Eli Lilly and Biogen remain deeply committed, while others like AstraZeneca, GSK and Novartis have withdrawn from neuroscience altogether. It is not an easy area of research.”
Toth explains that Cantabio is actively seeking investment.
“There is money in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, but Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease remain very high-risk areas. Investors in Asia often expect quick returns within three years, whereas biotech usually requires six to seven years or more.
“Governments and societies in regions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan are increasingly recognising the socioeconomic burden of ageing and investing more in this field.
“However, the leading laboratories and companies remain in Europe and the US, where most of the funding still comes from. The imbalance is striking.
“For example, the US spends about US$300bn annually caring for Alzheimer’s patients, but less than $10bn a year on clinical research for the disease. The scale of the problem far exceeds the resources being invested.
“I am nevertheless optimistic. We have compelling projects, especially our diagnostic platform, which is much closer to commercialisation than our therapeutics.
“For our team, beyond the business aspects, there is a strong sense of purpose. The people I work with are motivated by the knowledge that their research could make a real difference to patients’ lives.”
Toth says that being a small company enables Cantabio to move quickly, outsource safety studies, animal models and entire clinical trials, while keeping its innovative work in-house.
“On the diagnostic side, we are already running proof-of-concept studies with human samples,” says Toth.
“These are not yet clinical trials, but they are the next step towards them.
“In terms of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence is a useful tool where there is abundant data, but in neurodegeneration the real breakthroughs are coming from new imaging, diagnostics and therapeutic modalities.
For instance, technologies that allow large molecules to cross into the brain, or developments in gene therapy and mRNA therapy, which may not have major impact yet but clearly hold promise for the future.
NR Times met Gergely Toth at the Asia Summit on Global Health, facilitated by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
