Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide with more than 14 million new patients diagnosed and almost 9 million deaths every year. Despite increasing survival rates over the past few decades, current treatments such as radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapies and new immunotherapies still fail in large subsets of patients. Mounting drug resistance to these treatments as well as severe side effects further underscores the need to develop more efficacious therapies. Recently, the role of mitochondria induced cellular death of cancer has gained the attention of pharmaceutical companies and researchers. Emerging evidence suggests a molecule called cyclin C secreted by mitochondria can promote cell death and decrease drug resistance in several cancers.

The technology disclosed relates to methods and compositions of inducing nuclear translocation of cyclin C into the cytoplasm for the treatment of cancer. Cyclin C is important for a tumor’s ability to become resistant to treatment, thus administration of a cyclin C inducer along with anti-cancer agents may enhance treatment of the disease. 

Potential Application

Cyclin C compounds can be used to suppress or halt the growth of several different cancers. These compounds can be used in combination with currently approved treatments and may more effectively kill cancer cells over either agent alone. In addition, methods can be employed to determine the best treatment plan for cancers that are susceptible to cyclin C translocation.

Opportunity

The overall drug development market for cancer reached a staggering $145 billion in 2016 and is expecting substantial growth over the next several years. Rapid growth of the market is largely attributed to the rising incidence of the disease and significant resources dedicated to new treatment modalities.

Rowan University is looking for a partner for further development and commercialization of this technology through a license.