GERMANTOWN, Md., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , 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: info@avalonrx.com Chad Rubin (Investors) Tel: (212) 477-9007 ext. 47
Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Gary Lessing, Executive Vice President & CFO of AvalonPharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-301-556-9900, Fax: +1-301-556-9910,info@avalonrx.com; or Media, Wendy Lau of Noonan Russo, +1-212-845-4272; orInvestors, Chad Rubin of The Trout Group LLC, +1-212-477-9007 ext. 47
Web site: http://www.Avalonrx.com/
