SRI International Awarded a Department of Defense Laboratory-Clinical Transition Grant to Advance SRI's Novel Anticancer Agents for Prostate Cancer Treatment
MENLO PARK, Calif. —October 13, 2009—SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it has been awarded a $1.55M U.S. Department of Defense/Prostate Cancer Research Program (DoD/PCRP) grant to support product-driven, preclinical studies of SRI's novel agents that have the potential to become prostate cancer drugs. The goal of the program is to discover treatments that can revolutionize the prevention, detection, or treatment of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and second only to lung cancer as a leading cause of cancer deaths in men. There is currently no cure for advanced or metastatic prostate cancer. The available treatments for localized prostate cancer often leave patients with uncertainty about disease recurrence and complications such as incontinence or impotence. SRI researchers are working to develop an effective and well-tolerated therapy that improves prospects for a cure without impairing overall well-being.
With support from an earlier DoD/PCRP Idea Development Award, SRI researchers developed a novel class of anticancer drugs derived from dietary indoles found in cruciferous vegetables that prevent prostate tumor cell proliferation, progression, and invasion. The novel lead compound, SR13654, shows antitumor activity and disease control with few side effects at efficacious doses. Early preclinical safety studies indicate that this class of bis-indole compounds holds potential to be better tolerated than many anticancer agents currently on the market.
"This award will support SRI's efforts to continue the research and development of SRI's advanced lead, which holds promise for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer," said Ling Jong, Ph.D., principal investigator and medicinal chemistry program director in SRI's Center for Cancer Research. "The successful development of this class of drug will fill a significant unmet need in current cancer therapy."
SRI researchers have experience moving new drug candidates from the laboratory bench to clinical testing and onto the marketplace. Through collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, SR13668, another compound derived from the bis-indole platform works as an Akt pathway inhibitor and has already advanced to human clinical trials for cancer prevention.
SRI's Center for Cancer Research, comprised of biologists and medicinal chemists with expertise in fundamental and applied cancer research, focuses on the study of tumor microenvironment, tumor metabolism, and aberrant signaling pathways that cause cancer. Through collaborative partnerships, SRI's Center for Cancer Research has been successful in generating an extensive drug pipeline translating discoveries into beneficial treatments.
