The first Phase I study of the compound, PRLX 93936, will be a dose-escalating trial involving up to 36 patients. PRLX 93936 is a structural analog of a compound called erastin, in-licensed by Prolexys from the MIT/Whitehead Institute in January 2005.
PRLX 93936 was tested against a series of normal and tumor cell lines derived from tumors with dissimilar causative mutations, indicating potent and selective activity against a wide variety of tumors, many with activated Ras pathway.
The compound showed robust tumor regression in a range of human tumor xenografts grown in immuno-compromised mice, including models of pancreatic, colon, and ovarian cancers, and melanoma, fibrosarcoma and other solid tumors.