Maxim granted patent to protect cancer research

The issued patent covers a novel class of potent apoptosis inducers with vascular targeting activity that inhibit microtubule formation. The lead compound in this series is MX2407, which has strong antitumor activity in pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies and is being advanced for clinical development.

Cancerous cells often exhibit unchecked growth caused by the disabling or absence of the natural process of programmed cell death called apoptosis. Apoptosis is normally triggered to destroy a cell from within when it outlives its purpose or it is seriously damaged. One of the most promising approaches in the fight against cancer is to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, thereby checking, and perhaps reversing, the improper cell growth.

Maxim researchers can efficiently identify new cancer drug candidates and molecular targets that selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells through the use of chemical genetics and our proprietary live cell high-throughput caspase-3 screening technology.

Using a combination of chemical genetics and caspase-3 screening technology allows Maxim’s researchers to discover and rapidly test the effect of small molecules on pathways and molecular targets crucial to apoptosis, and gain insights into their potential as new anticancer agents.

Maxim’s high-throughput screening capabilities allow researchers to screen approximately 30,000 compounds per day. To date, this program has identified several families of compounds with potentially novel mechanisms that induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Four compounds from within these families have progressed to lead drug candidate status with proven preclinical efficacies in tumor models and identified molecular targets.