10001247Development of novel drugs against an untreated common target in multiple cancersClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKAPOBEC proteins have been recently recognised as the most significant cause of cancer, even more so than smoking or UV radiation. The genetic mutations driven be APOBEC are not only the cause and growth of many common cancers, but also their spread and the development of drug treatment resistance in the cancer. There are currently no medical treatments approved or in clinical development targeting this fundamental cancer driver. APOBEC Discovery Limited (ADL) is developing novel treatments to inhibit the harmful activity of these proteins to create a completely new class of anti-cancer therapy. A safe and effective APOBEC-inhibiting drug should have a broad range of activity across a number of common cancers: preventing growth, spread and treatment resistance. It may also have potential opportunity to be utilised to prevent cancers forming in high-risk individuals. ADL has developed a set of lead candidate molecule drugs that are expected to show significant activity against cancer cells in the laboratory. This project will facilitate the development of proof of concept in in vivo models allowing ADL to generate safety and efficacy data for our lead drug candidates. This data will enable ADL to optimise late stage pre-clinical development prior to first human studies. Only one of the top selling cancer medicines globally is being commercialised by a UK pharmaceutical company. ADL's goal is that this significant drug research programme helps cancer patients live longer.