Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2 clinical study of its novel heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor, STA-9090 in hematologic malignancies with a once-a-week dosing schedule. In March, Synta initiated the first Phase 1/2 clinical study of STA-9090 in hematologic malignancies with a twice-weekly dosing schedule. This is the fourth clinical study initiated on STA-9090, a synthetic, small molecule Hsp90 inhibitor with a novel chemical structure that is unrelated to the ansamycin class of Hsp90 inhibitors, including 17-AAG. The other ongoing clinical trials are once-a-week and twice-a-week dosing studies in patients with solid tumors.
“Hsp90 inhibition is one of the most exciting areas of research in oncology today because of its unique role in maintaining the function of numerous signaling proteins that are necessary for the survival and proliferation of many types of cancer cells,” said Jeffrey E. Lancet, M.D., principal investigator on the trial and Associate Member of the Department of Malignant Hematology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. “Based on pre-clinical data as well as early clinical data from on-going trials, we believe STA-9090 is a highly potent inhibitor of Hsp90 with the potential to be best in its class. This clinical trial will allow us to determine the optimal dose for STA-9090, to understand the signaling pathways mediated by Hsp90 inhibition within leukemic cells, and to provide additional insight on its clinical activity in refractory hematologic malignancies.”