Opsona Therapeutics, a biopharma company spun out of Trinity College, has embarked on a series of trials to see if its leading therapy could prove effective in treating certain forms of cancer.

Opsona is developing Toll-2 inhibitors, drugs designed to block Toll-like Receptor 2, a protein in the body that works to reject foreign organisms. The receptors present particular problems in transplant surgery.

The Dublin company is currently recruiting patients for trials to assess the potential for its lead drug, OPN-305, in treating second-line lower (low and intermediate-1) risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MDS is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells.

Effective dosage

The first-phase trial aims to identify the most effective dosage in treating patients, as well as how often the drug should be taken to maximise its efficacy. In the second phase, which will run alongside the first, researchers will assess whether OPN-305 can control the disease alone or with another drug, azacitidine. The trials are being overseen by Prof Guillermo Garcia-Manero at MD

Anderson Cancer Center

, in Houston,

Texas

.

Opsona said MDS would be the first of a range of cancers that the company target with its therapy.