Supporting structures

A recent study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has two key ingredients for a new PARP-related opportunity in cancer. The findings marry the now-hot field of synthetic lethality with the growing momentum in targeting specialized DNA structures, dubbed G4 DNA, that are enriched in multiple cancers.

Synthetic lethality has surged in interest since the 2014 approval of Lynparza olaparib from AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN), a drug that targets poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and PARP-2, for ovarian cancer patients with deficiencies in breast cancer 1 early onset (BRCA1) or BRCA2. At least four newcos have been launched since 2016 to use synthetic lethality to kill cancer cells. ...