| 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 Johns 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. James F. Holland, Dr. Ross C. Donehower, Dr. Stephen D. Nimer, and Dr. William N. Hait.
-- Dr. James 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 Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and is an expert in the pharmacology of chemotherapeutic drugs.
-- Dr. Stephen 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. William N. Hait, Director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, UMDNJ/Robert Wood Johnson 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(TM), 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 www.onconova.com.
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