Current News

Contact | Print version | PDF version | Send article | RSS-Feed

Xanthus Presents In Vitro Data Demonstrating that Symadex is a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of FLT3

20 Sep 2006 - Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented data from a study in which Symadex (C-1311) was identified as a potent, selective inhibitor of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), FLT3. Researchers from Xanthus and the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, found that at low nanomolar concentrations, Symadex was a potent inhibitor of FLT3 and that it was generally more selective for this target as compared to other RTK inhibitory compounds that were tested.
 
"The findings reported today are of benefit to our development of Symadex for the treatment of cancer and auto-immune diseases, respectively," stated Robert L. Capizzi, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Xanthus. "FLT3 inhibition immediately fits into our focus on the development of new therapies for AML and our laboratory efforts have shown that Symadex has potential for the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. We intend to pursue both of these areas."
 
Symadex (formerly C-1311) is the lead compound in clinical development from a new series of agents, the imidazoacridinones, which have shown in vitro to be potent and selective FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Symadex is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials in oncology. Xanthus is also exploring the use of Symadex for the treatment of a number of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, where early preclinical data has shown encouraging signs of activity. Xanthus licensed intellectual property related to Symadex from BTG International, Ltd.