ABOUT AVENZOAR
Avenzoar Pharmaceuticals is a start-up pharmaceutical company founded in 2016. Avenzoar is specialized in developing cancer drugs aiming at targeting and inhibiting mechanisms of metastasis and drug resistance.
Avenzoar has three drugs in the pipeline so far. The lead drug is AP-001 (aka Metavert), which is expected to be tested in pancreatic cancer patients in 2025.
AVENZOAR PHARMACEUTICALS, Inc. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• October 2016 - Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement entered into with Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, to develop three drug candidates designed as AP-001, AP-002 and AP-003.
• December 2016 – U S Patents granted for the composition and methods for treating cancers and in various other countries in 2018- 2024.
• September 2019 – Small Business Technology Grant from the National Cancer Institute
• May 2023 - $2.9 million convertible note financing from Ally Capital
AVENZOAR
Committed to fight cancer
Avenzoar's management team:
Terrance Bruggeman, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, has served as Executive Chairman and as Chief Executive Officer of a number of life sciences including Diversa (1992-2000) (IPO), Provasis Therapeutics (2000-2002) which was sold to Boston Scientific, Somanta Pharmaceuticals (2004-2008) reverse merger and IPO and BioTork (2009-2016).
Stephen Pandol, MD, Director, Founder, and Chief Medical Officer, is the Director of Basic and Translational Pancreas Research at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Professor of Medicine, UCLA. He authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He is an international authority on pancreatic diseases and is a reviewer, editorial board member and editor of a number journals.
Mouad Edderkaoui, PhD, Founder, and Chief Scientific Officer, is a Research Scientist and adjunct-Professor at UCLA. He authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and he is member of the editorial board and review committees of a number of journals and research organizations.
Linda Strause, PhD, VP Clinical Affairs, is the Principal and Founder of Strategic Clinical Consultants. Previously she has lead the clinical operations of Leading Biosciences, Vical, Cancervax, and Quintiles. She is an Adjunct Professor at UC San Diego.
STRATEGY
World Class Standards
STRATEGY
Our strategy is based on developing small molecule therapeutics that simultaneously target multiple cancer promoting pathways to treat recalcitrant cancers including pancreatic and liver cancer with a focus on targeting metastasis and chemo-resistance pathways.
In addition to the management team we have build a world class team of consultants and an advisory board that will work together to assure the success of Avenzoar’s drug development strategy.
Stephen Pandol, MD
Avenzoar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Board of Directors:
Terrance J. Bruggeman -Chief Executive Officer.
Mark Chin – Investment Partner at Avoro Capital Advisors, a global life science investor supporting emerging biotech companies. He was previously a Managing Director at ARIX Biosciences and a Principal at Longitude Capital. Prior to that he was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and worked in corporate development at Gilead Sciences and Genentech.
Mouad Edderkaoui PhD – Chief Scientific Officer
Stephen Pandol, MD – Chief Medical Officer
Shierley Widjaja – Has held a number of executive roles in the pharmaceutical industry. She was formerly a board member at Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. and a research associate at McKinley Capital Management.
PRODUCT
We are specialized in developing small molecules therapeutics for cancer.
The lead drug in our pipeline is a dual inhibitor small molecule that prevents growth and metastasis of the cancer cells. The drug is called Metavert.
Metavert is an anti-cancer drug developed by Avenzoar.
Metavert is a small molecular dual inhibitor that targets two pro-cancer pathways at the same time. Pre-clinical results show strong prevention of pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis with no significant toxicity.
Metavert will be tested in pancreatic cancer patients in 2025. Lung and liver cancer patients will be considered for clinical trials as the pre-clinical results show that Metavert affects lung and liver cancer cells.
Overview of Pancreatic Cancer:
- 12th most common cancer worldwide with 495,000 new cases and 466,000 deaths (World Cancer Research Foundation)
- In the United States, 64,000 new cases and 50,550 deaths annually. The 10th most diagnosed cancer and the 3rd leading cause of death. The 5-year survival rate is approximately 12%.
- Surgical removal of the tumor is possible in less than 20% of the patients.
- Chemotherapy and radiation remain the principal forms of treatment.
Interested in learning more about our products? Feel free to get in touch.