Kinase Inhibitors

Cancer

Aberrant cell division is the hallmark of cancer. Much of these processes are orchestrated by enzymes called kinases. Inappropriate kinase activity can lead to cancer. Therefore blocking this inappropriate kinase activity provides a means to stop cancer cell growth. TransTech Pharma has applied TTP Translational Technology^® to find inhibitors of several kinases known to be important in cancer cell division and metastasis. Unique inhibitors have been identified that inhibit cell growth of multiple cancer cell lines in vitro.

Aurora kinases are members of the protein kinase family and represent novel targets for cancer therapy. Three isoforms of aurora kinase, aurora kinase A, B, and C, are considered key mitotic regulators required for genomic stability. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that these isoforms may be in involved in the pathogenesis of cancer; studies show aurora kinases are overexpressed in tumor cells, and may promote oncogenesis in vitro. In addition, aurora kinases control chromosomal alignment and segregation, and perturbations of these functions are implicated in tumor formation. Such evidence suggests that the inhibition of aurora kinases A, B and C is a tangible therapeutic approach for the treatment of various cancers.

Using its TTP Translational Technology^®, TransTech Pharma has identified a potent aurora kinase inhibitor, TTP607, that is entering clinical development.