Empowered Patient Podcast Precision Drug Targets Specific Gene to Treat Bladder Cancer and Childhood Dwarfism with Todd Harris Tyra Biosciences
Todd Harris, CEO and Co-Founder of Tyra Biosciences, is focused on developing a selective inhibitor for FGFR3, a protein implicated in bladder cancer and childhood dwarfism. The company has developed the SNAP discovery platform to accelerate structure-based drug design targeting this specific protein, while avoiding effects on related proteins to minimize significant side effects. Their lead drug candidate has the potential to become a primary well-tolerated oral monotherapy, shifting the treatment paradigm for cancer patients to prevent recurrence and for children to allow for more typical bone growth.
Todd explains, "We are taking a novel step to a set of conditions, genetic conditions in FGFR3 biology that have long been known, that others have attempted to address, but where the underlying chemistry hasn't had the necessary selectivity to really be able to make progress. FGFR3 biology is implicated both in bladder cancer and in kids with dwarfism and short stature conditions. And there have long been chemical matter drugs that can inhibit FGFR3, but also inhibit close family members, including FGFR1 and 2. These close family members, the nature of the close family members, make it very challenging to make a drug that is a drug candidate that selectively inhibits FGFR3 while sparing FGFR1, 2, and 4."
"And it was a challenge we took on because we felt like we could meaningfully improve the outcomes for patients by doing so. FGFR3 has important biology in bone and cancer, but FGFR1 and 2 have important biology as well and can lead to side effects when inhibited at the same time as FGFR3. So our attempt to make a selective inhibitor is really an effort to minimize off-target tolerability effects, things that can affect, like pain in your nails, blistering of hands and feet, and elevated phosphate levels when taking the pan FGFR drugs. And then just focus on a drug that can inhibit FGFR3, avoid that type of toxicity, and be able to more meaningfully impact these genetic conditions."
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