Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is developing innovative, oral drug therapies for treatment of cancer and viral infections, by blocking the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR)
 
Cancer
 
Hercules has demonstrated that blocking the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor could: 
  •    enhance the response of the immune system to cancer
  •    reduce tumor growth in multiple solid tumor models
  •    may be combined to enhance the efficacy of other immuno-oncology drugs
 
Viral infection
 
The AhR receptor is "hijacked" by virusses to suppress mechanisms that block viral replication in cells.
Hercules AhR inhibitors block viral replication in  models of viral infection.
This was demonstrated in in-vivo models of ZIKA virus infection and in in-vitro models of Dengue virus infection. AhR is also highly expressed in patients with Covid-19 infection and it is likely that AhR inhibitors may also block replication of corona virus.

If successful, Hercules' developments could result in oral treatment of patients with early symptoms of Covid-19 and other viral infections.

 
 
 

The development of Hercules’ AhR inhibitors for treatment of Covid-19 is financially supported by:
 
Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling van de Europese Unie en het SNN