Aug 28, 2025

Dr. Steven Quay, Chairman and CEO of Atossa Therapeutics, is dedicated to addressing unmet needs in breast cancer prevention and treatment. Dense breasts are a significant risk factor for breast cancer, and Atossa's lead drug candidate has shown effectiveness in reducing breast density and lowering the risk of cancer. This dual-action drug blocks estrogen receptor signaling and induces programmed cell death in cancer cells, potentially offering a more effective and more tolerable treatment option.

Steven explains, "So we are very focused on breast cancer to the point that Princess of Atossa, the company is named after, was the first woman in recorded history with breast cancer about four 50 BC. She was the wife of Darius the Great, who had the Persian Empire, the largest piece of real estate before the Roman Empire. And she had a breast lesion. It was documented that her slave cauterized it with a hot poker from the fire. We didn't get a follow-up from that, but anyway, we are dedicated to all the women, including her, and since then, who have been dealing with breast cancer." 

"So it's a very interesting molecule. We call it a Janus molecule. Janus is the two-faced goddess. In this case, it is two-faced in a positive fashion because she addresses two different ways that cancer cells control themselves to drive the growth. Its major activity is to block estrogen binding to the estrogen receptor. So, as I said at the beginning, if 75% of all breast cancers are driven by estrogen, our drug is going to really nail 75% of all breast cancers. But then it gets even more exciting because it also has a second activity in another pathway in cancer driving called PKC beta." 

#AtossaTherapeutics #BreastCancer #Cancer #DenseBreasts #Estrogen

atossatherapeutics.com

 Listen to the podcast here