The collaboration utilizes the university's advanced comparative oncology platform, led by Lecturer Daiki Kato and Professors Takayuki Nakagawa and Manabu Mochizuki. By studying spontaneous cancers in dogs—which share significant biological and clinical similarities with human malignancies like osteosarcoma—the team aims to optimize ABT-301’s efficacy as both a monotherapy and in combination regimens. This approach provides a clearer picture of how the drug interacts with complex tumor microenvironments before it reaches larger human studies.

ABT-301, an isoform-selective Class I histone deacetylase inhibitor, is currently undergoing Phase I/II clinical trials for metastatic colorectal cancer. Anbogen CEO Dr. John Hsu noted that the data generated in Tokyo will be vital for expanding the drug's clinical pipeline beyond colorectal applications. By identifying molecular markers that predict treatment response in these veterinary models, the company intends to streamline patient selection and refine therapeutic strategies for future human trials targeting immunologically cold solid tumors.