Indication and Market

The TRAIL-receptor agonists from Apogenix will be developed for the treatment of solid tumours. Most likely, these compounds will be developed in combination with, e.g., already approved chemotherapeutics. This might offer the chance to overcome TRAIL-resistance which can be observed in some solid tumours.
Solid tumours are formed through the uncontrolled growth of somatic cells, leading to neoplasms (abnormal masses of tissue), which may develop into malignant cancer. Over 50% of neoplasms have defects in the apoptotic signalling pathways, thus making many tumours resistant to therapy with, e.g., chemotherapy and radiation. 
Cancer types are classified according to the affected organ (e.g., lung cancer, breast cancer) and the tissue origin (e.g., carcinoma, sarcoma). Many cancer types are characterised by their highly invasive growth into surrounding, healthy tissue.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in industrial nations according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO notes that “the number of global cancer deaths is projected to increase 45% from 2007 to 2030 (from 7 900 000 to 11 500 000 deaths)”, and that new cases of cancer are estimated to jump from 11.3 million in 2007 to 15.5 million in 2030. In the U.S., about 560,000 people die of cancer each year, making it the second leading cause of death (23.1% of all deaths) after heart diseases (26%). It is estimated that there will be some 1.6 million new cancer cases in 2012. The lifetime probability of an American male to develop cancer is 1 in 2 (Source: American Cancer Society). In Germany, there are more than 400,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed every year, 200,000 women and 230,000 men. The median age of onset for this disease is 69 years (Source: Robert Koch Institute). 
Existing cancer therapies can prolong survival, but rarely cure the disease. Therefore, there is still a large unmet medical need for more efficient cancer drugs.