Research - , Seoul, South Korea
MedPacto is a genome-based drug discovery and clinical-stage biotechnology company that is pursuing the development of first-in-class therapies to bring new hope to patients suffering from the most challenging diseases such as cancer. The leading drug candidate is Vactosertib, an orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitor of the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) currently in phaseⅡ clinical trials with global pharmaceutical companies such as Merck and AstraZeneca. Vactosertib inhibits transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) pathway signaling, which is known to promote the metastasis and proliferation of cancer cells by modulating the tumor microenvironment. Vactosertib plays a synergistic role in improving the response to various therapies by inhibiting immune-suppressive TGF-β activity and suppressing the resistance mechanism of cancer stem cells. MedPacto is currently conducting combination trials with Vactosertib targeting several cancer indications including colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, sarcomas, NSCLC, bladder cancer, and gastric cancer. Additionally, MedPacto is currently developing MP005A, a new antibody therapeutics targeting BAG2 protein which promotes tumor formation and lung metastasis by binding the enzymes that regulate the tumor microenvironment in cancer development, and MP005D, a diagnostic kit that can detect BAG2 genes.