Neovia Oncology Ltd., of Beijing, said it started a phase I trial of lead candidate NEV-801, a multi-inhibitor drug designed to enhance immunotherapy response in patients with advanced, drug-resistant cancers. NEV-801 is a conjugated compound made from an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese tree Camptotheca acuminate and podophyllotoxin derived from the roots of the may apple plant that grows in the wild in North America. Combined, it becomes a simultaneous inhibitor of topoisomerase I and topoisomerase II activity, HIF-1 transcriptional activation, and hypoxic induction of VEGF mRNA and protein expression, targeting Werner syndrome protein.