Announcement • Aug 12

Telomir Pharmaceuticals Publishes Preclinical Data Demonstrating Telomir-Zn Suppresses Tumor Growth in Prostate and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Models

Telomir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the peer-reviewed publication of preclinical data of Telomir-Zn suppressing tumor growth in prostate and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) models through selective modulation of intracellular iron and copper. The manuscript, titled "Telomir-Zn Modulates Intracellular Iron and Copper to Inhibit JmjC Histone Demethylases and Suppress Tumor Growth in Prostate and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer," has been published in the Journal of Oncology Research and Therapy, Volume 11, Issue 3. These preclinical findings provide the scientific foundation supporting advancement of Telomir-Zn toward the Company's planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial in TNBC. Histone demethylases, or KDMs, specifically the KDM2, KDM5, and KDM6 families, are often overexpressed in aggressive cancers, where they can promote tumorigenesis by either silencing tumor-suppressor genes or activating oncogenic programs, depending on their substrate specificity and cellular context. Telomir-Zn targets these KDM enzymes by depleting the intracellular iron they require for catalytic activity. This study demonstrates that this KDM-targeting approach translates to meaningful anti-cancer activity. The study's most critical finding was direct proof that Telomir-Zn's anti-cancer activity depends on iron depletion. When researchers added iron back to treated TNBC cells, the compound's killing effect was significantly reversed. This iron-rescue result eliminates alternative explanations and demonstrates the mechanism is real and specific, not a general toxin or off-target effect. Telomir-Zn killed iron-dependent TNBC cancer cells at low concentrations while leaving normal cells unharmed at concentrations more than 50-fold higher. This selectivity window demonstrates the compound preferentially targets cancer cells with elevated iron dependence, a hallmark of aggressive malignancies like TNBC. In a prostate cancer model, oral Telomir-Zn suppressed tumor growth and reactivated silenced tumor-suppressor genes (STAT1, GSTP1, RASSF1A, CDKN2A, and MASPIN). In TNBC and prostate cancer, both elevated KDM activity and abnormal DNA methylation can silence tumor-suppressor genes through distinct but complementary epigenetic mechanisms. The compound works through an upstream mechanism distinct from approved drugs that target downstream epigenetic machinery. In TNBC human xenograft models, Telomir-Zn reduced primary tumor size across several cell lines. In HCC1806 xenografts, the compound also significantly reduced metastatic dissemination, a critical finding, as most TNBC patients die from spread disease, not the primary tumor. In BT-549 xenografts, Telomir-Zn combined with paclitaxel produced significantly greater tumor reduction than either drug alone, a finding that suggests potential for combination therapy approaches in the clinic and positions Telomir-Zn as both a monotherapy and a chemotherapy partner. Notably, MDA-MB-231 xenografts did not respond, indicating heterogeneous sensitivity based on tumor-specific iron-metabolism features. It tells us that in the future we could be able to stratify patients based on personalized iron-handling signatures and potentially enrich for responders in future clinical development. Triple-negative breast cancer remains a significant clinical challenge. Most patients receive chemotherapy as a backbone, with limited options for targeted or precision-based approaches. Current approved therapies and those in development address symptoms of epigenetic dysregulation but do not target the underlying metabolic drivers, specifically, the dysregulated iron homeostasis that fuels overactive KDM enzymes in iron-addicted cancers. This publication establishes dysregulated KDM-driven epigenetic silencing as a fundamental cancer vulnerability that can be targeted through selective iron modulation. Unlike conventional epigenetic drugs that broadly inhibit methylation-modifying enzymes (DNMT or HDAC inhibitors), Telomir-Zn targets the upstream metabolic dependency, excess intracellular iron, that fuels KDM overactivity. By depleting labile iron and disabling KDM enzymes, the compound disrupts epigenetic silencing at its root, enabling tumor-suppressor reactivation. This mechanistically distinct approach addresses a therapeutic gap in the current TNBC treatment landscape. The iron-rescue experiments provide the strongest possible proof that this mechanism is real and specific, enabling clinical strategies for patient selection based on iron-metabolism biomarkers. The preclinical anti-metastatic activity in HCC1806 xenografts is particularly noteworthy, as it suggests potential to address both primary tumor control and disseminated disease, a key unmet need in TNBC.

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