SGX says cash position ample to meet goals in three oncology programs

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Oct. 19 - SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has ample cash to bring its BCR-ABL program into the clinic, file an Investigational New Drug application for a compound in its MET program and select a product candidate from its JAK2 inhibitor program, said Michael Grey, SGX's president and chief executive officer, Thursday at the 2006 BIO Investor Forum in San Francisco.

"We believe that SGX really is poised for growth over the next year or two and the potential from these programs provides significant upside over the next 12 to 18 months," Grey said.

SGX had cash and cash equivalents of $47.7 million at June 30.

The company plans to nominate a development candidate from its BCR-ABL program before the end of the year and begin a phase 1 clinical trial of the compound in the third quarter of 2007, Grey said.

The BCR-ABL program, under an alliance with Novartis, targets four major Gleevec resistant mutations and once selected, a compound from the program could qualify for accelerated approval, he said.

SGX also hopes to have a strategic partnership in place for its MET inhibitor program by the middle of 2007 and expects to select a development candidate from the program in the second half of the year, he said.

MET activating mutations are implicated in renal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, multiple myeloma and glioblastoma.

Deeper in development, SGX's JAK2 inhibitor program is in lead optimization stage.

"We're focusing on the oncology area and have a number of high value programs that are making rapid progress toward the clinic," Grey said.

Grey also said Thursday that SGX is evaluating the data from its discontinued phase 2/ 3 study of Troxatyl as a third-line treatment for patients suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia.

The company is deciding whether it will move forward with Troxatyl and will announce details of its decision with its third-quarter financial results in early November, he said.

SGX is a San Diego-based biotechnology company.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.