Late-Breaking Research from SK Life Science Labs at AACR Annual Meeting Shows p300-Selective Degraders are Potent Growth Inhibitors in Models of Aggressive Prostate Cancers and Solid Tumors

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SK Life Science Labs, a subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a global biotech focused on the research, development, and commercialization of treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) and cancer, presented late-breaking research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025 in Chicago. The research identified novel orally bioavailable p300-selective degraders that have therapeutic potential for difficult-to-treat prostate cancer and multiple cancers where the protein CBP is mutated or missing.

"What is extremely promising about our research is that we have shown that selective p300 degraders are highly effective in rapidly shutting down tumor growth in hard-to-treat cancers while also reducing toxicity due to their precise targeting," said Ryan Kruger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at SK Life Science Labs. "This study offers great hope for the development of safer drug therapies that could effectively treat some of the most challenging types of cancers for patients who currently have few good treatment options."

The p300 protein is implicated in oncogenic processes that drive a variety of solid cancers. Targeted p300 degraders demonstrate superb selectivity and potency, inhibiting tumor cell growth across several indications including castrate-resistant prostate cancer and cancers where the related protein, CBP, is missing or mutated. Once daily oral administration of these potent p300-selective degraders in tumor-bearing mice results in rapid degradation of p300 and a significant reduction in tumor growth.

"There are two primary advantages of using a heterobifunctional degrader to target p300. First, using the power of ternary complex formation, we are for the first time able to generate molecules that can target p300 over CBP with exquisite selectivity. Second, p300 degraders eliminate this critical protein required for cancer cells instead of just suppressing its activity as other molecules in development do," continued Dr. Kruger. "This discovery underscores the potential for safer and more effective oncology therapies for some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers."

For more information about SK Life Science Labs, visit www.sklslabs.com.

SK Life Science Labs Strategic Alliance and Partnership Opportunities
Kiel Kim
[email protected]

About SK Life Science Labs
SK Life Science Labs, with headquarters in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is a U.S. subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a pioneering South Korean company in drug development and commercialization. SK Life Science Labs (formerly Proteovant Therapeutics) exploits the ubiquitin-protease system (UPS) to discover and develop transformative medicines for the treatment of patients with life-altering diseases. Protein degradation harnesses the human body's innate cellular machinery by way of the UPS to identify and mark disease-causing proteins for destruction. This promising approach provides the opportunity to target proteins of interest, many of which were previously considered undruggable. SK Life Science Labs integrates its AI-enabled target ID platform, degrader drug-hunting expertise, and MOPED^™ molecular glue screening platform to advance novel protein degraders. For more information, please visit www.sklslabs.com.

About SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.
SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is part of SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate. SK Group is a collection of global industry-leading companies driving innovations in energy, advanced materials, biopharmaceuticals and digital business. For more information about SK Biopharmaceuticals, visit www.skbp.com/eng. 

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is part of SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate. SK Group is a collection of global industry-leading companies driving innovations in energy, advanced materials, biopharmaceuticals and digital business. Based in Seoul, SK Group invests in building sustainable businesses around the world with a shared commitment to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. SK Group companies combined have $151 billion in global annual revenue and employ more than 100,000 people worldwide. SK Group is one of TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023. SK Inc., the parent company of SK Biopharmaceuticals, continues to enhance its portfolio value by executing long-term investments with a number of competitive subsidiaries in various business areas, including pharmaceuticals and life science, energy and chemicals, information and telecommunication, and semiconductors. In addition, SK Inc. is focused on reinforcing its growth foundations through profitable and practical management based on financial stability, while raising its enterprise value by investing in new future growth businesses. For more information about SK Inc., visit https://sk-inc.com/en/main/mainpage.aspx. For more information about SK Biopharmaceuticals, visit www.skbp.com/eng.

SOURCE SK Life Science Labs