VioQuest's Investigational New Drug application accepted by FDA

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., May 3 - VioQuest Pharmaceutical's Investigational New Drug application was accepted for VQD-002, triciribine-phosphate, by the Food and Drug Administration.

VQD-002 targets intracellular AKT by inhibiting its phosphorylation and, therefore, its ability to activate important cancer pathways, the company said in a news release.

Preclinical work showed that VQD-002 is a more potent inhibitor of AKT phosphorylation than other compounds in a National Cancer Institute diversity set and that individual cancers in patients could be scored for their degree of activated AKT, the release said.

AKT over-expression has been observed in many cancer types, including breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic and leukemia cancers. AKT is considered to be a very attractive therapeutic target by clinicians, scientists and industry, the company said.

VioQuest said it believes that VQD-002 is the first direct inhibitor of AKT currently under clinical development.

VioQuest, based in Basking Ridge, N.J., acquires, develops and commercializes targeted late preclinical and early clinical-stage therapies with unique mechanisms of action for oncology, viral and autoimmune disorders.

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