GRANT: LWF Doubles Down on Partnership with Aptadel Therapeutics (Barcelona, Spain)

$680,000 Committed to Advance ADEL-101, an Aptamer Drug Conjugate Targeting EWSR1::FLI1 (Type 1)

Scientific progress in cancer therapeutics is rarely a straight line. Even the most carefully designed strategies must navigate unknowns, technical hurdles, and experimental results that don’t always unfold as expected.

ADEL-101 demonstrated promising activity in vitro and in vivo in avian embryo models of Ewing sarcoma, a strategy used to generate important translational data prior to formal animal studies. In mouse models, ADEL-101 was able to target Ewing sarcoma tumors but much of the compound was found in the kidneys, indicating a fast clearance from circulation.

Following a detailed review of the data, the LWF team, together with its expert Medical Advisory Board (MAB), carefully assessed both the findings and a newly formulated strategy to improve biodistribution and, ultimately, in vivo efficacy.

After extensive discussion with the Aptadel team, LWF is proud to announce that we are doubling down on this targeted therapeutic approach. We have committed $680,000 to Aptadel to support this work.

The biodistribution challenge is not uncommon in drug development, particularly for small molecule drugs like ADEL-101. Effective therapy requires more than precise molecular targeting, and maximizing tumor engagement early on in preclinical settings is key to developing potent and safe solutions for patients. Even already FDA-approved small molecules for cancer treatment, like Irinotecan, are continuously being studied at preclinical level to further improve their pharmacokinetics (how a drug is absorbed, distributed, broken down, and eventually cleared from the body).

To address this delivery challenge, Aptadel will implement a strategy to increase the size of ADEL-101. This approach has been employed in multiple clinical therapeutic platforms to prevent filtering by the renal (kidney) system, prolonging circulation time and enhancing tumor exposure.

Like LWF, the Aptadel team understands the urgency facing patients and families. Over the next 15 months, the team aims to improve the in vivo proof-of-principle demonstrating enhanced tumor targeting and therapeutic activity - bringing us one significant step closer to clinical translation.

To learn more about ADEL-101, see our previous blog post.

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