Kovina Therapeutics Announces Publication in PNAS Validating HPV E6 Targeted Therapeutic Approach
Kovina Therapeutics Inc. today announced publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of research validating its HPV E6 targeted therapeutic approach.
The publication, “Covalent Inhibitors of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E6 Protein Restore p53 Function and Suppress Growth of HPV-Driven Tumors in vivo,” reports that small molecules developed through Kovina’s HPV E6 program restore p53 tumor suppressor activity, induce apoptosis and senescence in HPV-positive cancer cells, and suppress tumor growth in multiple in vivo models.
HPV-associated cancers depend on sustained expression of the viral E6 oncoprotein, which mediates degradation of the tumor suppressor protein p53. Despite decades of research, E6 has remained a difficult therapeutic target.
The study included multiple controls demonstrating that compound activity is selective for HPV expressing cells. Genetic validation of mechanism was further established through an engineered E6 resistance mutation that prevented compound binding and rendered tumor cells resistant to treatment.
