Atossa Therapeutics Announces Sponsored Research Agreement with Weill Cornell Medicine to Address Treatment Challenges in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative proprietary medicines to address significant unmet needs in oncology with a focus on breast cancer, today announces a strategic, sponsored research agreement with Weill Cornell Medicine to study the potential of inducing estrogen receptor (ER) expression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The goal of this research is to determine if treating TNBC with extracellular vesicles carrying the ER will convert the tumor to ER+ and render it sensitive to treatment with Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERM), including Atossa’s proprietary (Z)-endoxifen.

The research project will be led by David Lyden, M.D., Ph.D., the Stavros S. Niarchos Professor in Pediatric Cardiology and Director of the Department of Pediatrics’ Physician Scientist Training Program at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Lyden’s laboratory is focused on the molecular pathways activated by tumor extracellular vesicle uptake at the metastatic site and identifying potential therapeutic targets to thwart metastasis. His work has led to a new understanding of how primary tumor cells dictate their own metastases, by decoding how cancer-derived extracellular vesicles mediate intercellular communication. Most recently, Dr. Lyden has identified specific extracellular vesicle subpopulations and discovered a new subset of particles known as exomeres, which collectively have distinct functional roles in the systemic effects of cancer.

“We look forward to working with Atossa and think this project could provide proof of principle for novel approaches to estrogen receptor reinduction in triple negative breast cancer,” said Dr. Lyden. “If we are able to change the cancer phenotype and turn on the estrogen receptor, we could then treat these patients with hormone therapy, which is more effective than currently approved treatments for triple-negative breast cancer.”

“Triple-negative breast cancer grows and spreads faster than other forms of breast cancer, disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic women and has a higher risk of recurrence,” said Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “It’s called triple-negative breast cancer because it does not have any of the receptors that are commonly found in most breast cancers. This makes triple-negative breast cancer particularly difficult to treat because drugs that target estrogen, progesterone, or the human epidermal growth factor protein are ineffective. Activating the estrogen receptor and converting the tumor to ER+ would fundamentally transform the treatment paradigm for these patients.”