New class of drugs for cancer and inflammation

Kancera is a world leader in developing small molecule drugs for cancer and inflammation.

The company’s two main drug candidates are KAND567 in phase II for treatment of acute inflammatory conditions, and KAND145 in clinical preparatory studies prior to the start of phase I for treatment-resistant ovarian cancer.

Kancera is listed on Nasdaq OMX First North Premier since 2016. The company is based at Karolinska Institutet Science Park in Stockholm, a world-leading center for medical innovations.

Comments from the Senior Medical Advisor

With a drug at hand that blocks the fractalkine system, opportunities are opened to help patients who have great medical needs to be met.

Torbjörn Lundström, Senior Medical Advisor
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Kancera's Senior Medical Advisor Comments on Fractalkine

Why develop drugs against the fractalkine system?

Intensive research on the role of the fractalkin system in connection with inflammation and cancer shows that this control system can determine whether certain immune and cancer cells are allowed to pass from the blood into different tissues, which can, for example, complicate inflammatory conditions. In addition, the system facilitates the ability of cancer cells to repair themselves. No existing treatment can inhibit the fractalkin system, which means that today we lack this opportunity to counteract worsening inflammatory conditions or to prevent cancer from developing resistance to common standard treatments with chemotherapy. With a drug at hand that blocks the fractalkine system, opportunities are opened to help patients who have great medical needs to be met.”

What is the role of Kancera?

“Kancera has contributed to this development by inventing and developing several patented drug candidates that block the fractalkine system. Kancera is now a world leader in the clinical development of these small molecule drug candidates and has shown both safety and pharmacological effect in seriously ill patients. Now our efforts are focused on evaluating clinical benefit in patients with advanced cancer and acute inflammation in several planned and ongoing clinical studies.”

Torbjörn Lundström, Senior Medical Advisor

Background

Kancera is run by a team with solid experience and the well-documented ability to translate discoveries of new disease mechanisms into drug candidates and to develop these through the clinic to a strong market position. Together, the team has solid knowledge from innovative research organizations within AstraZeneca, Pharmacia, Biovitrum and Karolinska Institutet.

Kancera has mainly focused on cancer and inflammatory diseases. As research consultants, Kancera’s team has carried out projects for pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies in the USA as well as in Europe. Among these assignments is, for example, the development of the chemistry that laid the foundation for Enasidenib, a drug that has been marketed since 2017 by the American pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb for the treatment of acute leukemia (AML).

Vision

Kancer's vision is to become a leading player in the development of new drugs that contribute to a normalized life for the patient and more efficient care.

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Mission

Kancera's mission is to translate medical discoveries into pharmaceutical products that show clinical potential for the treatment of cancer and inflammation.

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Strategy

Commercialization of drug candidates is expected to take place in partnership with internationally established drug companies according shown efficacy profile in phase II patients. In this phase, early clinical drug projects are judged to provide the greatest return on invested capital.

Strategic partnerships for the commercialization of Kancera’s drug candidates are mainly based on option agreements with a focus on:

  • out-licensing
  • sales
  • or jointly coordinated product development that may mean that Kancera retains certain market rights and shares others with its industrial partner.

The final agreement structure is determined by the company’s strategic priorities at the time of the transaction regarding short- and long-term financial goals. Partial payments from partners are expected to be made at signature, milestones in product development typically in connection with sub-steps in clinical development, at registration and on the market.

The guiding force of Kancera’s drug development is strategic collaboration with world-leading researchers, clinics and established technical expertise, driven by common goals and long-term, mutual value creation.

Management

Kancera's team has solid experience of drug development and research within, among others, AstraZeneca, Pharmacia, Biovitrum and Karolinska Institutet. The experience is based on operational responsibility for research and development that has led to discoveries of new disease mechanisms and product development through clinical phases for the benefit of patients.

Peter Selin

CEO

Shareholding:

31,000 shares

Thomas Olin

EVP CSO

Shareholding:

342,076 shares

Dr. Markus Jerling

CMO

Shareholding:

No shares

Board of Directors

Kancera's board consists of individuals with long experience from leading positions in their area of specialization.

Chairman of the Board, lawyer Erik Nerpin, has over 20 years of experience in the field of business law. Professor Petter Brodin, MD PhD, Charlotte Edenius, MD PhD, Anders Gabrielsen, Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin and Professor Håkan Mellstedt are all scientific advisers and board members of Kancera.

Erik Nerpin

Chairman of the Board

Shareholding:

288,773 shares

Håkan Mellstedt

Board Member

Shareholding:

211,758 shares

Charlotte Edenius

Board Member

Shareholding:

7,321 shares

Carl-Henrik Heldin

Board Member

Shareholding:

80,000 shares

Thomas Olin

Board member

Shareholding:

342,076 shares

Anders Gabrielsen

Board Member

Shareholding:

No shares

Petter Brodin

Board Member

Shareholding:

No shares

Collaborations and Partnerships

Collaborations and partnerships are part of Kancera’s strategy for effective progress towards scientific, clinical and commercial goals for the pharmaceutical projects. Kancera provides unique drug candidates to the dedicated team of experts of scientific and commercial partners with which the company collaborates. The conditions for cooperation build a strong foundation for long-term and mutually rewarding cooperation.

Here are examples of some of Kancera’s ongoing collaborations.

Red Glead Discovery: Medicinal chemistry

Eurofin Panlabs: Analyses of drug candidate selectivity

LCBKI, SciLifeLab: Chemical screening library

Bioreperia AB: Disease models in zebrafish

Professor Thomas Helleday at Karolinska Institutet: Cancer models for the PFKFB3 and the fractalkine-projects

Gaël Roué (PhD) Head, Lymphoma Translational Group. Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute: Disease models for the ROR-project

Professor Camilla Svensson at Karolinska Institutet. EU-funded consortium in molecular pain research in the fractalkine projects

CrownBio: Preclinical cancer models

Meditox: Toxicology studies

Admescope: Metabolite studies

Chempartner: Pharmacokinetics

Lena Conradi (MD,PhD) chief physician and surgeon at Göttingen University Medical Center (Germany): Human disease models of rectal cancer for the PFKFB3 project

Professor Håkan Mellstedt at Karolinska Institutet: Cancer models for the ROR and the fractalkine projects

Recipharm AB: Formulation, stability studies and production of pharmaceutical product

NCK and Ardena: Production of drug substance

Q&Q: Bioanalytical studies

Scandinavian CRO and CRST: Clinical studies

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: The FRACTAL-Phase 2 study

Professor Ioakim Spyridopoulos at Newcastles Freeman Hospital: Myocardial infarction studies in the fractalkine projects

Professor Petter Brodin at Karolinska Institutet: Biomarkers and “long covid” studies in the fractalkine projekts

Would you like to work at Kancera?

At Kancera, a close-knit team works in a small organization. Each employee is, in many ways, their own boss as well as a close teammate.

Kancera has no current vacancies. When new vacancies occur they will be published here.