Cylene Selected to Present CK2 Inhibitor Multiple Myeloma Data at American Society of Hematology Meeting

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has been selected to present data describing the activity of their first-in-class CK2 inhibitor at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), to be held on December 4-7 in Orlando, FL, the company announced today.  Kenna Anderes, VP Cancer Biology at Cylene, will discuss research on targeting CK2, a protein kinase that is essential for the progression of multiple myeloma but that has not been previously exploited as an anticancer target.  As the only CK2 inhibitor to have entered clinical trials, Cylene's pioneering compound, CX-4945, represents a promising new therapeutic approach to the treatment of this life-threatening blood cancer.

"The data from Kenna's lab demonstrates the importance of CK2 as a target for cancer therapeutics, validating our decision to move CX-4945 into humans.  We take pride both in being the first to take a CK2 compound into the clinic and in the recognition by ASH of the importance of this groundbreaking research," commented William G. Rice, PhD, President and CEO of Cylene Pharmaceuticals.  "The recently initiated trial in multiple myeloma is being conducted by Farnoush Abar, MD and Richard Maziarz, MD at the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and by investigators who are part of the US Oncology Research nationwide network.  This trial is designed both to treat patients and simultaneously to expand our understanding of the precise role of CK2 in myeloma.  Molecular level characterization of patient samples alongside their response to CX-4945 will increase the likelihood that targeted treatment with CX-4945 will address this large unmet medical need."

The presentation schedule is:

Monday, December 6, 2010: 4:30 PM

Title: CX-4945, a Selective and Orally Biovailable Inhibitor of Protein Kinase CK2 Inhibits PI3K/Akt, JAK-STAT and NF-κBSignaling and Induces Apoptosis in Multiple Myeloma Cells

Session: Myeloma – Pathophysiology and Preclinical Studies, excluding Therapy: Multiple Myeloma – Molecular Target-Based Therapy

Location: Orange County Convention Center, 314

About CK2 and CX-4945

Protein kinase CK2 has emerged as a validated drug target for cancer therapy due to its dysregulation andoverexpression in tumors and its regulatory roles in cell cycle control, DNA damage repair, and in the PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT, IL-6 and NF-κB signaling cascades.  These pathways have specific relevance in multiple myeloma progression and high levels of CK2 overexpression characterize the disease.  CX-4945 is a potent and highly selective, small molecule inhibitor of CK2 and is currently under evaluation as an orally administered single agent in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with solid tumors (including breast, prostate, pancreatic cancers and inflammatory breast cancer) and a separate Phase I trial in patients with multiple myeloma has recently been initiated.  During the solid tumor trial, CX-4945 has established favorable pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and safety profiles.  Measurement of mechanism and tumor-related biomarkers in patients reveal that CX-4945 hits the CK2 target and down-modulates the PI3K/Akt pathway.  The pharmacokinetic and biomarker data demonstrate that CX-4945 is achieving pharmacologically active levels in plasma and in tumor cells and elicits a clear pharmacodynamic response in humans.  Together, the findings establish CX-4945 as a promising therapeutic agent for targeting multiple cancers.

About Cylene Pharmaceuticals

Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a San Diego-based, private biotechnology company, discovering and developing targeted small molecule drugs to treat life-threatening cancers.  Cylene's drug discovery platform, STAND (Selective TArgeting of Non-Oncogene Networks in Disease), has delivered a diverse portfolio of drug candidates that target the multiple pathways critical for the support and maintenance of cancer cells and that address unmet medical needs with substantial markets.  Cylene's novel agents include oral inhibitors of the cancer-linked serine/threonine protein kinases (CK2 and Pim), as well as oral agents that activate p53 via modulation of RNA Polymerase I activity in the upstream ribosome biogenesis pathway.  Cylene's innovative platform enables the rapid discovery of first-in-class agents that exert antitumor activity as a single agent and that can mechanistically enhance the effectiveness of current cancer therapies.  For more information on Cylene and its programs, please visit www.cylenepharma.com.

SOURCE Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc.