Avalon Pharmaceuticals Initiate Drug Discovery Program for the Survivin Pathway
November 07 2006 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
- An Important and Intractable Cancer Pathway - GERMANTOWN, Md.,
Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq and NYSE ArcaEx: AVRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused
on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics,
today announced the initiation of a drug discovery program for the
survivin pathway, an important and intractable cancer pathway.
Survivin is overexpressed in multiple tumor types including breast,
lung, prostate, pancreatic and colon. Additionally, survivin is
cancer selective as it is broadly expressed in most tumor types but
undetectable in most normal adult cells. "The survivin pathway is
recognized as a critical but elusive pathway for cancer
therapeutics, because of its lack of enzymatic function," stated
David Bol, Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development at Avalon.
"The survivin pathway intersects cellular networks critical for
cancer cell function; including cell death, cell growth, and drug
and radiation resistance." "Avalon Pharmaceuticals is especially
well-suited to undertake a discovery program for this intractable
cancer pathway," stated Kenneth C. Carter, Ph.D., President and CEO
of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "Our AvalonRx(R) technology
identifies potential therapeutics based upon their ability to
modulate pathways or targets within living cells. As an example, we
use RNAi technologies to knockdown the key nodes in these
'undruggable' pathways and mine the resulting genomic response to
identify a gene expression signature to screen for small molecules
that elicit a similar response." Avalon's pipeline now includes:
AVN944, an IMPDH inhibitor in Phase I clinical trials for
hematological malignancies, Beta-catenin and Aurora pathway
inhibitor programs, which are in late-stage lead candidate
optimization, and the new discovery program for survivin. Avalon's
depth and breadth of pipeline affords the Company the option to
selectively develop and/or partner these programs. Dr. Carter will
be discussing this latest initiative in detail at the Rodman and
Renshaw 8th Annual Healthcare Conference in New York City on
November 7th, at 4:15 p.m. EST, and during the Avalon Q3, 2006
Earnings Call on November 8th at 8:00 a.m. EST. Both of these
events can be accessed via webcast at the Company Website:
http://www.avalonrx.com/, on the Investor Relations page. About
Avalon Pharmaceuticals Avalon Pharmaceuticals is a
biopharmaceutical company using proprietary technology,
AvalonRx(R), to discover and develop cancer therapeutics. Avalon
has a lead product in phase I clinical development (AVN944 - IMPDH
inhibitor), preclinical programs to discover inhibitors for the
Beta-catenin and Aurora pathways and drug discovery collaborations
with MedImmune, Novartis, ChemDiv and Medarex. Avalon
Pharmaceuticals was established in 1999 and is headquartered in
Germantown, Maryland. About AvalonRx(R) AvalonRx(R) is a
comprehensive, innovative and proprietary suite of technologies
based upon large-scale gene expression analysis. This platform
facilitates drug discovery by expanding the range of therapeutic
targets for drug intervention, including targets and target
pathways frequently considered intractable using conventional HTS
approaches, allows more informed decisions about which compounds to
advance towards clinical trials, and facilitates drug development
through identification of biomarkers of efficacy that can stratify
patients or provide early indicators of response. Forward-Looking
Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Reform
Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainty and changes in
circumstances, which may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to differ materially from anticipated results,
performance or achievements. All statements contained herein that
are not clearly historical in nature are forward looking. Economic,
business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Avalon's
business are examples of factors, among others, that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are also
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements
included in Avalon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings,
including its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its annual report
on Form 10- K. Avalon is under no obligation to (and expressly
disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Contacts: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Noonan Russo Gary Lessing Wendy Lau (Media) Executive Vice
President & CFO Tel: (212) 845-4272 Tel: (301) 556-9900 Fax:
(301) 556-9910 The Trout Group LLC Email: Chad Rubin (Investors)
Tel: (212) 477-9007 ext. 47 DATASOURCE: Avalon Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. CONTACT: Gary Lessing, Executive Vice President & CFO of
Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-301-556-9900, Fax:
+1-301-556-9910, ; or Media, Wendy Lau of Noonan Russo,
+1-212-845-4272; or Investors, Chad Rubin of The Trout Group LLC,
+1-212-477-9007 ext. 47 Web site: http://www.avalonrx.com/
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