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2,5-AM may be a viable therapeutic agent for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. This could translate to saving the lives of thousands of people each year.
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Technology Pharmacological blockage of GLUT5, using 2,5-anhydro-D-mannitol (2,5-AM) was demonstrated to prevent fructose utilization, alleviated leukemic phenotypes, and potentiates the cytotoxicity of cytarabine in vitro. Cytarabine (arabinofuranosyl cytidine, Ara-C) is the primary standard of chemotherapeutic care for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It is one of the WHO’s essential medicines. Inventors have demonstrated that tumor cells deficient in glucose over-express the fructose transporter GLUT5 and use fructose as an energy source. This makes GLUT5 an attractive target for diagnosis, imaging, and chemotherapeutic intervention. Small molecule inhibitors of GLUT5 have been demonstrated to slow fructose utilization/tumor cell proliferation and, vide infra, antibodies or microRNAs or other interfering agents should demonstrate similar chemotherapeutic benefits. Hence, 2,5-AM may be a viable therapeutic agent. Market Description In 2011, the leukaemia therapeutics market for four major leukaemia indications was estimated at $4.0 billion and was projected to reach $7.6 billion by 2018. The US has been the leading market representing about 44% and sales in the US alone are expected to reach $3.5 billion by 2018. This technology has potential application to other tumor types as well as to diagnostics and imaging. Advantages/Benefits According to the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society, about 350,000 people are living with, or in remission from, leukaemia in the US. The estimated 5-year survival rate is about 65% but half of those patients will relapse. 24,000 people will die from leukaemia in the US this year alone. In vivo studies in AML mice demonstrated that use of 2,5-AM in combination with Ara-C is 20-25% more efficacious. This could translate to saving the lives of thousands of people each year. Enhanced fructose utilization and GLUT5 expression is likely a hallmark of many cancers as most normal cells do not use fructose as their main metabolic fuel.