Cylene to Present Advances with Industry's Only Clinical CK2 Inhibitor, CX-4945, at EORTC-NCI-AACR

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will present advances in the development of their first-in-class, CK2 inhibitor CX-4945, at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, to be held on November 16-19 in Berlin, Germany. CX-4945 is the first and only CK2 inhibitor to have entered clinical trials and represents an exciting new approach for the treatment for many different cancers. Three poster presentations will reveal results from the Phase I clinical trial and highlight the potential of this novel compound for combination anticancer therapies.

"We are delighted to be exhibiting so much fresh science around our flagship compound CX-4945. These scientific disclosures complement our manuscript describing the mechanism of action of CX-4945, recently accepted by the journal Cancer Research. Presentations by Cylene at premier conferences and the publication of our science by peer reviewed journals further validate CK2 as target for anticancer therapy," stated William Rice, PhD, President and CEO of Cylene Pharmaceuticals. "At the EORTC conference we will showcase the latest clinical data from patients treated with CX-4945 and also the discoveries concerning the critical roles that CK2 plays in the DNA Damage Response and EGF-Receptor pathways. These data provide a strong mechanistic rationale for the combination of CX-4945 with many agents that target these same pathways for the treatment of multiple cancers. As a company we aim to fully exploit the potential of CX-4945 in the clinic and ultimately see that it translates to real benefit for those patients and families struggling with cancer."

The presentation schedule is:

Wednesday, November 17, 2010: 12:00 PM Combined inhibition of EGFR and protein kinase CK2 synergistically blocks phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6, induces apoptosis in cancer cells and displays enhanced antitumor activity in xenograft models - Molecular-targeted therapies-preclinical, Abstract 99, Poster Board 056

Thursday, November 18, 2010: 12:00 PM Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CX-4945, a novel inhibitor of protein kinase CK2: Interim report from the Phase I clinical trial - Molecular-targeted therapies-clinical trials, Abstract 414, Poster Board 155

Friday, November 19, 2010: 8:00 AM CX-4945, an inhibitor of protein kinase CK2, disrupts DNA damage repair, potentiates apoptosis and enhances antitumor activity of gemcitabine in a model of ovarian cancer - DNA repair and inhibitors, Abstract 518, Poster Board 054

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, Wnt and NFκB signaling cascades. 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, as well as multiple myeloma and Castleman's Disease). During this 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.