Dr Jackson was formerly chief scientific officer at the cancer drug discovery company, Cyclacel. Prior to that, he held senior research positions at Celltech, Agouron, DuPont and Warner-Lambert. Dr Jackson has led teams that have developed 26 compounds to clinical trials, including the Aurora Kinase inhibitor CYC116, and gained his PhD in biochemistry from the University of London.
Sareum said that Dr Jackson’s appointment comes at an important stage in the development of its Aurora Kinase programme and his expertise in this area will be key to the future development of the programme. Sareum’s Aurora Kinase programme is now focussing on leukaemias such as AML (Acute Myeloid Leukaemia).
Sareum has also reported some of the advances in its cancer research programmes. The company said that it continues to evaluate Chk1 compounds that are administered orally in our in-vivo cancer model.
Additionally, new data demonstrates that the Sareum’s Aurora compounds potently inhibit the proliferation of AML cells. Recent experiments also show encouraging growth reductions in an AML in-vivo model. Recent experiments also show encouraging growth reductions in an AML in-vivo model.
Sareum has recently demonstrated that their FLT4 compounds are effective in preventing lymph vessel growth in cell models, and this efficacy specifically arises from FLT4 kinase de-activation.
Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Jackson to our scientific advisory board. His expertise, particularly in the area of Aurora Kinase will greatly assist our progress towards clinical candidates.
“We have produced encouraging data with our cancer research programme which we look forward to presenting to potential pharmaceutical company customers at forthcoming partnering meetings.”