New Kinase inhibitor in preclinical stage to target BCR-ABL

[Guest guest]

Cross Posted

Heads up! New kinase inhibitor targeting BCR-ABL - Dr. S. Nimer on the is

part of the development team.....

Cheers,

Cheryl-Anne

Dr. Jerome Groopman Chairs Onconova Therapeutics Inc. New Clinical Advisory

Board

BIOWIRE2K

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2005--

Board to Advise Development Team that Spearheaded Recent

Publications on Discovery of Novel Kinase Inhibitors in Two Leading Journals

Onconova Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held company focused on cancer

therapy, announced today the creation of its Clinical Advisory Board (CAB),

chaired by Dr. Jerome E. Groopman, and the appointment of its first five

members. Onconova's CAB members are distinguished oncologists from leading

medical centers in the U.S. and will advise the company in clinical and

regulatory strategies, particularly for the ongoing development of the

Company's lead anticancer agent ON 01910.Na. This novel non-ATP competitive

kinase inhibitor selectively blocks several important targets in cancer. The

drug candidate entered Phase I clinical trials at the s Hopkins Kimmel

Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD in July 2004. The CAB met for the first time

this month in New York.

Two Onconova kinase inhibitors have been the subject of papers published in

early 2005. ON 01910.Na was the subject of a peer-reviewed paper titled " ON

01910, a non-ATP-competitive small molecule inhibitor of PLK1, is a potent

anticancer agent, " which appeared in the journal Cancer Cell in March (Vol

7, 275-286, March 2005). The company's advanced preclinical stage compound

targeting BCR-ABL, involved in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), was

featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in February

(PNAS February 8, 2005, vol. 102, no. 6, pp 1992-1997)

Onconova's Clinical Advisory Board is chaired by Dr. Jerome E. Groopman, who

holds the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at the Harvard Medical

School and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess

Medical Center. Dr. Groopman was Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the

FDA for Biological Response Modifiers. His research has focused on cancer

and AIDS. He is also a writer for The New Yorker, and has written three

popular books, most recently " The Anatomy of Hope " . Other founding members

of the CAB are Dr. F. Holland, Dr. Ross C. Donehower, Dr. D.

Nimer, and Dr. N. Hait.

-- Dr. F. Holland, Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at

Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, received the prestigious Lasker Award in

1972 for his work in cancer chemotherapy. Dr. Holland has been working

closely with Onconova on developing preclinical models for testing

ON01910.Na.

-- Dr. Ross C. Donehower, Ludwig Professor in Clinical Investigation of

Cancer, is Director of the Division of Medical Oncology at the s Hopkins

Kimmel Cancer Center and is an expert in the pharmacology of

chemotherapeutic drugs.

-- Dr. D. Nimer is the Head of the Division of Hematologic Oncology

and Chief of the Hematology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,

NY. Dr. Nimer received one of two awards given to U.S. investigators by The

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a Specialized Center of Research Excellence

in myeloid malignancies.

-- Dr. N. Hait, Director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and

Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, UMDNJ/ Wood Medical

School, NJ, is an expert in breast cancer and is conducting basic research

in signal transduction systems altered in malignancy.

" All of us on the Advisory Board are looking forward to marshalling our

energy and expertise to the development of the PLK1 inhibitor (ON 01910.Na)

as a novel anti-cancer therapy, " said Dr. Groopman.

ON 01910.Na is the first in a new class of non-ATP competitive kinase

inhibitors being developed by Onconova that discriminate between cancerous

and normal cells by targeting specific checkpoints in the cell cycle. In

pre-clinical animal studies, ON 01910.Na was active against most tumor

types, including those resistant to standard chemotherapy, and did not

exhibit common toxic effects of chemotherapy such as anemia or weight loss.

The Clinical Advisory Board will also advise Onconova on other drug

candidates being developed by the Company. These include ON 01210,

Ex-RAD, for protection from whole-body radiation, being developed in

partnership with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI);

an advanced preclinical stage compound targeting BCR-ABL involved in Chronic

Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). A key attribute of this inhibitor is its potent

activity against all mutant forms of BCR-ABL kinase found in drug-resistant

CML. The Company also has a strong pipeline of specific enzyme inhibitors,

applicable for cancer, autoimmune, ophthalmic, and central nervous system

indications, in earlier stages of development.

About Onconova

Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops small molecule, patent

protected drugs that employ novel approaches to combating cancer and other

diseases. To date, nearly 20 U.S. patents have been issued. In addition to

the development stage compounds described above, the Company has a strong

pipeline of specific enzyme inhibitors, applicable for cancer, autoimmune,

ophthalmic, and central nervous system indications, in earlier stages of

development.

For additional information on Onconova Therapeutics Inc., visit the

company's website at <http://www.onconova.com/> www.onconova.com.