A well-known Australian phrase is to “go walkabout”, meaning to wander.
Well, on October 4, 2023, EpicentRx and nibrozetone (RRx-001) went “talkabout.”
In the morning, Dr. Tony Reid, CEO of EpicentRx, presented a poster in person on RRx-001 (nibrozetone) at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. The poster, shown below, was entitled, “Secondary analysis of RRx-001 (nibrozetone) on the incidence of related toxicities in patients treated with concomitant chemoradiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer.” It covered results from the PREVLAR Phase 2a trial in which RRx-001 (nibrozetone), administered with chemotherapy and radiation to patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer, dramatically reduced the incidences of several toxicities including oral mucositis, dysphagia, anorexia, and skin injury.
In the evening, California time, Dr. Bryan Oronsky and Scott Caroen from EpicentRx gave a presentation over Zoom to an audience at the OneTri Conference in Brisbane, Australia. Their presentation was on RRx-001 (nibrozetone) and the collaborative relationship that the company has forged with Dr. Richard Gordon, an inflammasome expert and key opinion leader (KOL) from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. Their virtual talk was followed by an in-person one from Dr. Gordon who gave a brief overview and history on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and presented compelling data on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of RRx-001 (nibrozetone) in PD. See slide from the EpicentRx talk below and screenshot of the EpicentRx presentation over Zoom.
In the Q&A session at the end of the presentation, someone in the audience asked about how the industry-academic partnership between EpicentRx and Dr. Gordon at QUT happened. Bryan Oronsky replied, “Well, we had a Casablanca moment when we first talked where we felt that “this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”
Which 2 years, 4 manuscripts, and 3 awarded grants later, it continues to be.