TAU Therapeutics LLC

A New Way of Treating Cancer

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Tau Therapeutics LLC (“Tau”) is a biotechnology company built on a revolutionary discovery of a Cytostatic Checkpoint Therapy TM that stops the growth of cancer cells. As the proprietors of this disruptive mechanism of action, Tau is focused on the research, development, repositioning and commercialization of calcium T-channel therapy agents as cytostatic anti-cancer drugs. Tau’s vision of cancer treatment is one of chronic treatment. The underlying technology is licensed from the University of Virginia and Tau was incorporated in October 2003 with its headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The mission of Tau is to transform the very nature of how we treat cancer – from late stage treatments such as toxic chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery to a therapeutic daily regime similar to the way we treat hypertension for early to late stage cancer. Tau’s goal is to usher in the next, and hopefully final, generation of cancer treatment – a new approach to cytostatic chemotherapy that we term “Cytostatic Checkpoint Therapy.” We will work to ensure that Tau will be the first to bring a small molecule cytostatic chemotherapeutic to the bedside by exploiting our powerful, patented approach to selectively inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.

Tau researchers have identified and filed provisional use patents on three calcium T-channel drugs that are or were on the market for other indications. Tau is currently conducting pre-clinical studies on these drugs for GBM and ovarian cancer to ready them for Phase II/III Clinical Trials within the next six months. In addition to Tau’s repositioning strategy, Tau researchers have patented three libraries of small molecule compounds. Tau has conducted significant pre-clinical tests and identified several viable lead compounds for development. Tau’s lead compound, TTL 1177, is in late pre-clinical tests and within one year of filing with the FDA for an Investigational New Drug.




Science Overview: “The Copernicus Project”

In the 16th century, Copernicus completed his landmark work, De Revolutionibus, which asserted that the Earth rotated around the Sun. His theory challenged the religious and scientific beliefs of the time. Copernicus saw things from a different perspective. Rather than take for granted “the facts”, he re-examined them, testing the long held assumptions and came to the problem from a different view. The result was ultimately a new paradigm. He changed the way we now view the world.

In the mold of the “Father of Astronomy,” Tau has christened its cancer research the “The Copernicus Project: To develop the first cytostatic small molecule compounds for the prevention and treatment of cancer.” Tau believes that its approach, while radically different from decades of traditional cancer research, has the potential to shake up the world of cancer treatment much like Copernicus shook up the world of astronomy almost 500 years ago.

Cancer is conventionally treated by killing cancer cells in some way. Cancer cells are cut out, poisoned, or bombarded with radiation. These methods of treating cancer are very much aligned with the image of a "War on Cancer," which was declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon. But this war is a continuing stalemate with the age-adjusted incidence of death from cancer remaining unchanged since 1970. In fact, cancer is poised to overtake heart disease as the number one killer in America. Among the problems is that the current cytotoxic treatments need to be 100% effective—even a single remaining cancer cell can regenerate the tumor and all too often the surviving cells are those that are more resistant to cytotoxic drugs, producing tumors that are increasingly difficult to eradicate.

Tau’s approach represents an entirely new modality for treating cancer – a true disruptive technology. Cytostatic chemotherapy aims to reduce the proliferative rate of cancer to that of healthy tissue. The rationale behind this strategy is that tumor growth kills by eroding the anatomic and physiologic integrity of the body leading ultimately to death. The logic of cytostatic chemotherapy is simple: stop tumor growth, stop its erosive power, and a person with cancer will not succumb to it. Moreover, the collateral damage to normal tissues from conventional cytotoxic drugs is minimized. If cytostatic therapy can be realized, cancer treatment will no longer be crisis management and instead will become analogous to the treatments for other chronic diseases.

Tau will develop a spectrum of products using our platform technology. Each agent will be an orally available small molecule intended for chronic administration and optimized to treat a different form of cancer. Ultimately, these compounds may realize the true potential of cytostatic chemotherapy --they may be the leading edge of a revolution in cancer chemotherapy. Tau’s approach to cancer therapy, like Copernicus’ solution to planetary motion, will change the way we think about a fundamental tenet of our lives.