Cellmid 2017 Annual Report 11

Medicinal cannabis has received extensive media attention

recently as regulation of the therapeutic use of marihuana

opens up new treatment options for patients. Medicinal

marihuana has a number of beneﬁts in cancer treatment

including relieving pain and nausea, and improving

appetite. There is sound scientiﬁc evidence that distinct

chemical components of cannabis called cannabinoids, are

potent anti-cancer agents, with direct anti-tumour actions

including induction of cancer cell death.

However, as for many cancer drugs, tumours can develop

resistance to cannabinoids, which is where MK antibodies

come in. In the Spanish study Cellmid’s collaborators, led by

Professor Guillermo Velasco, observed that MK antibodies

in combination with the cannabinoid THC inhibited tumour

growth in gliomas that were resistant to THC alone.

Overcoming THC resistance, or resistance to medicinal

marihuana and its derivates, by treatment with a MK

antibody may be the key to improving clinical efﬁcacy of

cannabis. It provides a strong rationale for the continued

clinical development of MK antibodies to treat brain

cancer, especially so in collaboration with partners that

have capabilities in cannabis research.

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE – WESTMEAD

INSTITUTE

Lyramid has been granted $100,000 through the

Innovation Connections Grants program from the

Australian Government during FY2017. The grant will

support a collaboration with kidney specialists and

University of Sydney research scientists at the Westmead

Institute. The research supported by the grants will

test the efﬁcacy of MK antibodies for the treatment of

chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular (CV)

complications of CKD in preclinical rodent models.

The experiments will use therapeutic antibodies developed

by Lyramid, and are expected to provide further evidence

that blocking MK can protect the kidney from injury in CKD

patients. The work follows previous studies at the Westmead

Institute in a ﬁbrosis model of chronic kidney injury where

MK antibodies preserved renal structure and function.

The Australian Government funding provides a major

boost to Lyramid’s CKD program and will consolidate

collaborations with key clinicians and academic

researchers. The group at the Westmead Institute will not

only provide expertise in performing complex experiments

to study CKD and associated CV complications, but also

contribute clinical and physiological insights into the

disease processes involved.

MELANOMA – CNIO, MADRID (SPAIN)

Lyramid’s midkine assets received strong endorsement

in June 2017 when the highest ranked paper Nature has

published the results of a study showing that MK is a crucial

agent in the promotion of melanoma metastasis.

The paper, entitled “Whole-body imaging of

lymphovascular niches identiﬁes pre-metastatic roles of

midkine”, by Professor Marisol Soengas and her group

at the CNIO in Madrid, describes how midkine drives the

often-fatal metastatic spread of melanoma cells from the

primary tumour in the skin to distant organs such as liver,

lung, bone and brain.

MK antibodies have already shown considerable promise in

reducing tumour growth and restricting new blood supply

to different solid tumours (some of these results have

been released in the ASX announcements on 3 October

2013 and 5 October 2016). Together with these new

discoveries around metastasis, inhibiting midkine for better

treatment of melanoma promises to be a compelling drug

development program for Lyramid.

Whilst considerable data has already been published

on the prognostic value of MK in various tumour types,

Dr Soengas’ research raised it to prominence that

higher midkine levels correspond with poor therapeutic

outcomes. The study is particularly important as it provides

strong validation for Lyramid’s cancer therapeutic programs

using MK antibodies.

The Nature publication increased visibility of Lyramid’s

cancer therapeutic programs targeting MK and its value

as a prognostic marker for various tumour types. Since

the publications Lyramid has commenced discussions with

potential commercial and research partners.