Cylene to Report Recent Advances With First-in-Class CK2 Inhibitor, CX-4945, at International CK2 Conference

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will report recent developments with its first-in-class, oral CK2 inhibitor CX-4945, at the 6th International Conference on Protein Kinase CK2, to be held on September 7-10 in Cologne, Germany, the company announced today. CX-4945 is potentially a dynamic anticancer therapeutic, as both a stand-alone drug and for use in combination therapies. The meeting will be attended by leading CK2 experts and will emphasize the importance of CK2 in many aspects of biology and human disease.

At the conference Cylene scientists will discuss the discovery and development of CX-4945, the first potent and selective inhibitor of protein kinase CK2. A symposium presentation and posters will outline the chemistry expertise that enabled Cylene to rationally design CX-4945, as well as the novel biology that has guided its development.  CK2 is crucial to the development and maintenance of key cancer processes and, as the first clinical CK2 inhibitor, CX-4945 provides an innovative and exciting weapon in the fight against cancer. Specifically, CK2 plays critical roles in the DNA Damage Response, PI3K/Akt and EGF-Receptor pathways, thereby providing a strong mechanistic rationale for the synergistic combination of CX-4945 with many agents that target these same pathways for the treatment of multiple cancers.

"The scientific understanding of CK2 and its multiple roles in cancer cell survival has emerged from the fundamental research performed by scientists attending the International CK2 Conference. Cylene has built upon this knowledge and now has the only clinical stage CK2 inhibitor. We are thrilled with the performance of CX-4945 in the clinic to date and anticipate delivering real benefit to patients in our continuing Phase I and Phase II trials," commented William Rice, PhD, President and CEO of Cylene Pharmaceuticals.

About CK2 and CX-4945

Protein kinase CK2 has emerged as a validated drug target for cancer therapy due to its dysregulation and overexpression in tumors and its regulatory roles in cell cycle control, DNA damage repair, and in the PI3K/Akt, Wnt and NFkB 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.