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news.Avalon Pharmaceuticals has initiated a drug discovery program targeting the MYC oncoprotein, one of the most important and previously intractable cancer targets.
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MYC is one of the most frequently deregulated proteins in human cancer, and is associated with many types of aggressive tumors carrying a poor prognosis.
“The MYC pathway is recognized as a critical but elusive pathway for cancer therapeutics,” stated Dr Carmen Allegra, a founding member of Avalon's Clinical Advisory Board. “MYC has been known for years to be central to cancer cell proliferation and survival, but it has not been amenable to conventional approaches to drug discovery. A drug targeting MYC action would be potentially very useful in the treatment of a variety of human cancers.”
Avalon's pipeline now includes: AVN944, a potential best-in-class IMPDH inhibitor now in phase I clinical trials for hematological malignancies; beta-catenin and aurora pathways inhibitor programs which are in late stage lead candidate optimization; a discovery program on modulators of survivin function and now the new discovery program surrounding MYC. Avalon's depth and breadth of pipeline affords the company the option to selectively develop and/or partner these programs.