Telik Announces Preclinical Data Demonstrating Anti-Cancer Activity of Dual Inhibitors of Aurora Kinase ...( PALO ALTO Calif. Oct. 25 /- Telik...),Health

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Telik, Inc. (Nasdaq: TELK) reported positive preclinical data from its ongoing program to develop novel small molecule inhibitors of validated cancer targets including aurora kinases and VEGFR2. The data were presented today at the AACR-NCI-EORTC Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in San Francisco.

Aurora kinases are enzymes that play a key role in mitosis, or cell division. They are over-expressed in many human cancers, including breast, colon, pancreas, prostate and thyroid cancer, and are associated with carcinogenesis. Several aurora kinase inhibitors are currently under clinical evaluation for the treatment of cancer.

The VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2/KDR/Flt-1), a clinically validated target, plays a pivotal role in controlling angiogenesis and metastasis. A single agent that targets both aurora kinases and VEGFR2 may offer advantages of simultaneously attacking the ability of cancer cells to grow and divide while starving existing tumors of needed blood supply.

Telik scientists have identified a class of selective small molecule inhibitors of aurora kinase A and B and VEGFR2. Treatment of human colorectal cancer cells with two of these inhibitors, A60 and EA19, prevented cell division, ultimately leading to cancer cell apoptosis (programmed cell death). These same compounds are potent inhibitors of VEGF-dependent human endothelial cell proliferation. These agents demonstrated significant inhibition of tumor growth in a standard xenograft model of human colorectal cancer.

"These data support the continued development of aurora kinase and VEGFR2 inhibitors," said James G. Keck, Ph.D., vice president, biology research. "We
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