Txinno Bioscience announced on Tuesday that it will present preclinical research results for its Unc-51 Like Kinase 1 (ULK1) targeted protein degrader candidate TXN12923 at a poster session during the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference in San Diego.
ULK1 is a crucial factor that initiates protective autophagy in cancer cells and is closely linked to resistance mechanisms against cancer treatments.
Notably, when therapies targeting the RAS signaling pathway or antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are applied, ULK1-dependent autophagy is activated, raising concerns about treatment resistance.
While conventional ULK1 inhibitors work by suppressing enzyme activity, their effectiveness may be limited due to compensatory mechanisms like increased protein expression. In contrast, Txinno Bioscience’s ULK1 targeted protein degradation (TPD) takes a novel approach by selectively degrading the target protein itself, setting it apart from existing inhibitors.
TXN12923 is expected to suppress autophagy by eliminating the ULK1 protein, potentially overcoming drug resistance and enhancing the efficacy of anticancer agents in tumors highly dependent on autophagy.
The drug shows promise for excellent synergistic effects when combined with other cancer treatments across various cancer types, including those with RAS mutations.
Moreover, ULK1 TPD’s potential applications extend beyond RAS-mutant cancers to a broad spectrum of tumors heavily reliant on autophagy. It may prove valuable in combination strategies with immunotherapies, targeted therapies, and ADCs.
Dr. Park Chan-sun , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Txinno Bioscience, stated that its AACR poster presentation will showcase ULK1 TPD’s unique mechanism of action and preclinical findings to the global research community. It aims to validate the potential of autophagy modulation-based therapeutic strategies and expand the global collaborative research and business development efforts.
This research was supported by the Small and Medium Business Administration’s Small Business Technology Innovation Development (R&D) project (Project Number: RS-2025-25459290).