From 2003 to 2021, for all 124 FDA-approved novel cancer drugs, the net improvement in mean overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.8 and 3.3 months, respectively, for all solid cancers. These numbers reveal the stark reality of treating all solid tumors; Despite the era of targeted/precision medicine and immunotherapy, little progress has been made in overall survival. Recurrent treatment resistance and metastasis of the primary tumor are the two most important factors contributing to poor survival statistics. Ironically, although 90% of cancer patient deaths are ultimately due to tumor metastasis, there are almost no drugs that can delay or prevent metastasis.

For the last three years, Mestastop has relentlessly devoted himself to basic biology to understand why such an unmet need has not yet been addressed, and has focused on understanding the pathophysiology of metastasis in multiple solid tumors while examining both cell lines and patient samples . Contrary to popular belief that larger tumor size is directly proportional to the likelihood of metastasis and targeting these proliferating cells would nullify the process of metastasis, Mestastop has shown that the rate-limiting critical steps of metastasis are distinct and can only be targeted by concentration on the metastatic cells and not on the proliferating cells.

Three Mestastop platforms, developed over the past three years and translationally validated on patient samples in prospective and retrospective studies, bring a new promise that can empower biopharmaceuticals in its fight against metastasis and treatment resistance. The first platform, METAssay™, dissects metastatic biology into thirty cellular assays and characterization steps, skillfully distinguishing the unique differences between a metastatic and a proliferating tumor cell that can be exploited for drug discovery. The second platform, METSCAN™, integrates patient data with the METAssay™ panel to identify the most critical…