StarkAge Therapeutics Partners with Gustave Roussy to Advance First-in-Class Senolytic ADC for Digestive Cancers
Key Insights
StarkAge Therapeutics (search) announced a research collaboration with Gustave Roussy (search) to characterize cellular senescence induced by standard treatments in digestive cancers.
The partnership will inform patient selection strategies for STX-1, a first-in-class senolytic antibody-drug conjugate targeting DPP4 (search)/CD26 (search) as it advances toward IND-enabling studies.
The collaboration aims to generate biological insights that could open new therapeutic avenues to eliminate both senescent and malignant cells in refractory cancer patients.
StarkAge Therapeutics (search), a French biotechnology company developing senolytic antibody-drug conjugates for age-related diseases, has entered into a research collaboration with Gustave Roussy (search), Europe's leading cancer center, to advance the development of STX-1, a first-in-class senolytic ADC targeting digestive cancers.
The collaboration, announced on January 27, 2025, will focus on characterizing cellular senescence induced by standard of care treatments across a large series of digestive cancers. The findings will inform patient selection strategies for STX-1, which targets dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP4 (search)/CD26 (search)), a specific marker of senescence that is frequently constitutively expressed on primary tumors and overexpressed in metastases.
Addressing Treatment-Induced Senescence in Cancer
The partnership addresses a critical challenge in cancer treatment: the accumulation of senescent cells following anticancer therapies. According to Antoine Hollebecque, MD, from the Department of drug development at Gustave Roussy (search), "Senescence is induced by certain anticancer treatments, and accumulation of senescent cells within tumors significantly reduces patient survival."
Benjamin Le Calvé, Chief Executive Officer of StarkAge Therapeutics (search), and Eric Angevin, Chief Medical Officer, emphasized the strategic importance of the collaboration: "This collaboration with Gustave Roussy (search) is an important step as we move forward to IND-enabling studies. Gustave Roussy has an exceptional expertise in digestive cancers, pathology and computational biology and the results will help us enrich the positioning of STX-1 and accelerate the development of senescence-targeted therapies for patients with high medical need."
Novel Therapeutic Approach
STX-1 represents a novel approach to cancer treatment by targeting senescent cells that accumulate following conventional therapies. Senescent cells, while no longer dividing, release pro-inflammatory molecules that contribute to various pathologies including cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and fibroses affecting renal, cardiac, pulmonary, and hepatic tissues.
In the cancer context, many treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapies induce senescence in cancer cells, contributing to drug resistance, metastatic dissemination, and local immunosuppression. The accumulation of these senescent cells within tumors is strongly associated with poorer outcomes and significantly reduced patient survival.
Research Collaboration Framework
The collaboration will combine StarkAge's expertise in senescence biology with Gustave Roussy (search)'s capabilities in multiplexed pathology and computational oncology. Conducted under a research agreement with Gustave Roussy and its technology transfer affiliate, Gustave Roussy Transfert, the program aims to generate high-resolution biological insights.
Dr. Hollebecque noted that "This collaboration with StarkAge will generate high-resolution biological insights and could open new therapeutic avenues to eliminate both senescent and malignant cells in refractory cancer patients."
DPP4 as a Senescence Target
StarkAge has identified DPP4 (search) (CD26 (search)) as a highly selective marker of cellular senescence and a relevant tumor-associated antigen, leading to the development of proprietary monoclonal antibodies. STX-1, currently in preclinical development, represents the company's lead program as a first-in-class DPP4-targeted ADC.
The collaboration findings will support STX-1's progression toward IND-enabling studies, positioning the therapy for potential clinical development in digestive cancers where senescent cell accumulation poses significant treatment challenges.