DoD Awards $876,000 Grant to Advance Lung Cancer Biomarker Research at Cedars-Sinai

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded an $876,000 grant to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to support critical biomarker research for Kairos Pharma's experimental lung cancer treatment, ENV105. The funding will specifically focus on identifying potential early intervention strategies for patients with EGFR-driven non-small cell lung cancer who have developed resistance to osimertinib, a standard treatment.

The research, conducted in Dr. Neil Bhowmick's laboratory, aims to advance precision medicine approaches by developing targeted therapies that can overcome drug resistance. ENV105, an antibody targeting the CD105 protein, represents a promising approach to addressing treatment challenges in lung cancer.

This grant underscores the significant potential of ENV105 to improve long-term outcomes for lung cancer patients. By identifying biomarkers that indicate treatment resistance, researchers hope to develop more personalized and effective intervention strategies.

The funding aligns with Kairos Pharma's strategic focus on utilizing structural biology to combat drug resistance and immune suppression in cancer treatments. Currently, ENV105 is simultaneously undergoing Phase 1 trials for lung cancer and Phase 2 trials for castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

The research has broader implications for oncology, potentially offering insights into mechanisms of drug resistance that could be applied across multiple cancer types. By targeting CD105, a protein associated with treatment resistance, ENV105 represents an innovative approach to restoring the effectiveness of standard cancer therapies.