The NNMT gene is overexpressed in multiple cancers and high levels of NNMT is linked to poor prognosis in several tumor types, including gastric cancer, ovarian cancer and glioblastoma. Glioblastoma, which is one of the most aggressive cancers, accounts for about 35 percent of all brain tumors and is thus one of the main challenges in today's cancer care. The median survival for patients with glioblastoma is approximately 12–14 months. Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer globally and the median survival for metastatic gastric cancer is only 15-17 weeks. Consequently, there is a large remaining unmet medical need for improved treatment alternatives for these indications.
 
“We are very pleased with the progress of the NIMA program, which entails a truly promising opportunity to develop a novel cancer treatment alternative. Our fragment-based drug development platform has enabled us once more to rapidly develop highly potent inhibitors of a novel target. We are very much looking forward to introducing the NIMA program to potential partners", said Martin Andersson, Chief Scientific Officer at Sprint Bioscience.
 
About the NNMT protein and cancer
The NNMT protein is upregulated in several cancers and is involved in various important processes in the survival of cancer cells at the interface between epigenetics, tumor metabolism and immunosuppression.

Upregulation of NNMT has been shown to promote tumor growth through epigenetic reprogramming of both cancer cells and stromal cell types in the tumor. Elevated NNMT have also been shown to affect cell metabolism, such as levels of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and biosynthesis of NADH. The product produced by NNMT, 1-methylnicotinamide (1MNA), is excreted by tumor cells and inactivates the function of immune cells in the tumor.

Studies have also shown that the ability of CAR-T cells to eliminate tumor cells is affected by 1MNA, which opens up for treatments where NNMT inhibitors can be used in combination with various types of immunotherapies, including cell therapies such as CAR-T.