Wildflower Biopharma Inc

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The science behind Wildflower Biopharma, Inc. (WBI) is based on the unique convergence of multiple research avenues (including genomics, tumor biology, natural products and medicinal chemistry) over the last twelve years.

 

In 2007 it was discovered that two very active anticancer natural products from bacteria target the cellular machine (called the spliceosome) that allows higher organisms to produce many important proteins from a single gene. Previous work had already shown that the function of the spliceosome is abnormal in cancer cells, so this work suggested some possible mechanisms for the action of the spliceosome targeted natural products. This led to researchers in the medicinal chemistry laboratory of Thomas R. Webb to develop synthetic molecules with drug-like properties that mimicked the activity of the natural products, but were more selective in targeting tumor cells.  

 

In 2011 this work converged with several major research projects focused on understanding tumor genomics (the study of genes that are mutated in cancer) with the detection of prevalent mutations in spliceosome proteins that were strongly associated with many human cancers. One of the most common mutations were identified in the exact spliceosome protein that is the molecular target of the natural products and drug prototypes being developed in the Webb Laboratory. This work further fueled the development of the anticancer drug candidate, sudemycin D6 (SD6) in the Webb Laboratory in 2013.

 

Since that time SD6 has been the subject of substantial additional development along with much additional related work in the Webb Laboratory that has shown it to be an effective and safe drug candidate. Additional future WBI research will include a focus on the discovery of novel exon-skipping modulators of the spliceosome that have the potential to correct certain orphan genetic diseases.

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Learn more about WBI science:

 

Find publications from the Webb Laboratory and collaborators