Duo Oncology Signs Exclusive License with University of Pittsburgh

DUO ONCOLOGY ENTERS INTO EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOR NOVEL NANOMEDICINES

PITTSBURGH (PRWEB) 03/17/2022 – Duo Oncology, founded and funded by University of Pittsburgh faculty and UPMC oncologists, has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with the University of Pittsburgh to develop stronger, safer medicines for patients with hard-to-treat cancers. The licensed patents cover a novel nanomedicine platform originating from the world-renowned lab of Dr. Song Li, Director of the Pitt Center for Pharmacogenetics and a cofounder of Duo Oncology.

“I am thrilled to see the collaboration between University of Pittsburgh researchers and UPMC oncologists commercializing this discovery in cancer medicine,” said Evan Facher, Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Innovation Institute. “Their work together to identify and bring this technology to patients demonstrates the Pittsburgh medical research and innovation ecosystem at its best.”

University of Pittsburgh scientists, led by Dr. Song Li in collaboration with clinicians from the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, have spent 13 years in a passionate effort to translate a discovery that harnesses the self-assembly of DNA into a potent architecture for anti-cancer medicines. The resulting patent-pending chemistry effectively penetrates dense, stroma-rich tumors, which are among the hardest cancers to treat. Duo Oncology will continue their effort developing a lead product (DUO-207) for pancreatic cancer, the deadliest of metastatic diseases.

“In stroma-rich tumors, it is exceedingly difficult for chemically diverse drugs to reach and act in tandem on cancer cells,” Dr. Li said in a statement. “Duo Oncology is redefining this known limitation with our selfassembling chemistry that arranges diverse drugs into ultra-small nanoparticles capable of reaching cancer cells deep within dense tumors.”

“The most effective cancer therapies use combinations of two or more agents,” Rothstein said. “Their synergies provide clear gains to patients and Dr. Li’s self-assembling chemistry takes the power of those combinations further, hopefully creating real gains for patients.”