More on What was saying about the SGX molecule

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SGX Pharmaceuticals Presenting Data at American Society of Hematology Annual

Meeting on Inhibitors of Wild-Type and Gleevec®-Resistant BCR-ABL Kinase

Tuesday December 13, 9:00 am ET

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SGX Pharmaceuticals announced that it

will present data today at the American Society of Hematology's 47th Annual

Meeting and Exposition showing that compounds discovered by applying its FAST

lead discovery platform potently inhibit wild-type and Gleevec-

resistant BCR-ABL, including the most clinically challenging mutation T315I.

The clinical success of Gleevec has demonstrated that BCR-ABL kinase

inhibitors can provide effective treatment of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

(CML). However, some patients develop resistance to Gleevec therapy, which

occurs due to point mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase and there is currently

no approved pharmaceutical treatment for such Gleevec-resistant CML.

Although effective against many of the other clinically relevant mutants,

second-generation BCR-ABL inhibitors currently in clinical studies have not

been shown to inhibit T315I, which represents about 20 percent of clinically

observed mutations and is one of the most common causes of resistance to

treatment with Gleevec.

During an oral presentation in the session entitled " Chronic Myelogenous

Leukemia: Molecular Mechanisms of Disease and Resistance " taking place today

at 9:45 a.m., K. Burley, M.D., D.Phil., SGX Pharmaceutical's Chief

Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President, Research, will present in

vitro and in vivo data showing that compounds in SGX's most advanced lead

series potently inhibit proliferation of K562 cells and Ba/F3 cells with

wild-type BCR-ABL and most clinically-relevant mutations, including T315I.

SGX expects to file an IND in late 2006 to permit clinical development of a

compound from its lead series of BCR-ABL kinase inhibitors for treatment of

drug-resistant CML.

About SGX Pharmaceuticals

SGX Pharmaceuticals (SGX) is a biotechnology company focused on the

discovery, development and commercialization of innovative cancer

therapeutics. More information can be found at www.sgxpharma.com .