Synta Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical and clinical data of Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090

Feb 27 2010

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 Dr. Geoffrey I. Shapiro of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented preclinical and clinical data on STA-9090, a potent second-generation Hsp90 inhibitor, at IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) 10^th Annual Targeted Therapies of the Treatment of Lung Cancer Meeting in Santa Monica, CA.

“Results to date demonstrate that the Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090 has greater potency compared to first-generation Hsp90 inhibitors, such as 17-AAG, in destabilizing critical oncoproteins and components of their signaling pathways, including EGFR, ERBB2 (HER2), BRAF and MET”

“Results to date demonstrate that the Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090 has greater potency compared to first-generation Hsp90 inhibitors, such as 17-AAG, in destabilizing critical oncoproteins and components of their signaling pathways, including EGFR, ERBB2 (HER2), BRAF and MET,” said Geoffrey Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber, a co-principal investigator on the recently initiated Phase 2 trial for STA-9090 in NSCLC. "In early trials, STA-9090 has shown promising signs of single-agent activity and an acceptable safety profile, without the severe liver and other toxicities observed with the first-generation Hsp90 inhibitors. These preclinical and early clinical results are encouraging and support the ongoing Phase 2 multicenter clinical study of STA-9090 in NSCLC."

The presentation by Dr. Shapiro can be found on the Synta Pharmaceuticals website at www.syntapharma.com.

“We are pleased to have STA-9090 presented as a leading Hsp90 inhibitor program in NSCLC at this major international lung cancer meeting” said Vojo Vukovic, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Synta Pharmaceuticals. “We are particularly encouraged that leading lung cancer investigators have shown a high level of interest in participating in our NSCLC clinical trial with STA-9090.”

Synta is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 2 single-arm, open-label, single-agent study of STA-9090 in patients with stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer, with patient cohorts defined by the genetic profile of their tumors.