This agreement will give Centocor and its Ortho Biotech Oncology R&D division affiliates the opportunity to discover and develop novel small molecule inhibitors of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway via selective inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FAS) for use in oncology.
FASgen said that its researchers have extensive experience studying the over-expression of FAS, an enzyme over-expressed in virtually all solid tumors. The inhibition of FAS causes tumor cell apoptosis and holds promise for new therapeutic treatments for cancer.