Name: Dio Tree
Address: 13 Wadi el-Haj Street, Nazareth, North District, IL
Telephone: +972526283780

Dio Tree is bringing a new hope to ovarian cancer treatment through a new mechanism of action and first-of-its-kind novel small molecule technology

OUR COMPANY

DioTree is passionately dedicated to developing innovative treatment for high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), one of the deadliest human cancers with an extremely poor prognosis. Our groundbreaking approach involves the development of a first-of-its-kind small molecule technology designed to target and inhibit the enzyme DIO3, which drives ovarian cancer progression. We are committed to advancing the frontiers of cancer treatment and making a positive impact on the lives of those affected by this devastating disease.

OVARIAN CANCER

Ovarian cancer, which is the fourth most common cancer in women and the leading cause of death among tumors in the female reproductive system, currently lacks an effective treatment option beyond chemotherapy and surgery. Although PARP inhibitors have been developed, they are only effective for about 15% of cases, namely for women carrying the BRCA mutation. Annually, more than 300,000 new cases are diagnosed worldwide, 75% of which will not survive the disease.

Our company aims to target all ovarian cancer patients, including those who are non-carriers of the BRCA mutation or resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. Our innovative drugs, which are "first-in-class" compounds designed to suppress the DIO3 enzyme, have potential applications beyond ovarian cancer, as DIO3 is expressed in other aggressive tumors such as lung, breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers. The target market size could potentially reach millions of cancer patients. Our product is expected to be integrated into the cancer treatment algorithm either as a combination therapy with chemotherapy drugs or as a maintenance therapy for patients who do not respond satisfactorily to current treatment options.

OUR TECHNOLOGY

The company's innovative technology involves a series of small molecules that were jointly developed by the co-founder of the company, Prof. Bernard Lerer from Hadassah Medical Center and Prof. Govindasamy Mugesh from Indian Institute of Science.

Those Molecules specifically target the DIO3 enzyme which is highly expressed in various aggressive cancers, including high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). DIO3 is an attractive target for inhibition since it is responsible for breaking down thyroid hormones, including the biological hormone T3. Because T3 has anti-cancer functions, many tumors express this enzyme, thereby facilitating the division of cancer cells. Our team is the first to generate a series of novel small molecules for DIO3 inhibition, and we are proud to have been granted patent protection in the US and Europe (EP3119768B1; US10435365B2).

Here are some of our key findings:

We have established that ovarian cancer is DIO3-dependent in both cells and mice models.
Using the 'best hit' DIO3 inhibitors, we have achieved high efficacy in both ovarian cancer cells and mice models.
We have confirmed a high safety profile through toxicology experiments.

With these exciting results, we are confident that our technology has the potential to make a significant impact in the fight against cancer