S*BIO said that its scientists will work closely with Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) investigators to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of SB1518 on diseased blood cells isolated from patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), and to validate the utility of novel biomarker assays with these patient samples.
The cellular response to drug treatment will be monitored in terms of general viability, specific apoptotic response, specific biomarker changes and JAK2 mutational status. A total of 50 patient samples will be collected for the study, through to the first quarter of 2009.
SB1518 is a small molecule JAK2-selective kinase inhibitor which has high potency against both the wild type JAK2 kinase and the JAK2 kinase with the V617F mutation, the company said. The V617F mutation is found in high frequencies in various myeloproliferative disorders such as idiopathic myelofibrosis. SB1518 might also provide an effective treatment for other hematological malignancies with mutations and re-arrangements in the JAK2 gene, the company added.
Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of S*BIO, said: “S*BIO is dedicated to scientific excellence and our collaboration with TTSH will provide valuable insights into the therapeutic effects of SB1518 in treating MPN, while demonstrating our commitment and belief in our product candidate. TTSH has an excellent team of physicians and we look forward to working with them in evaluating effective medicines that will provide long-term solutions to current palliative options for MPN patients.”