BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., Jan. 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:CYCC) (Nasdaq:CYCCP) today announced the publication of two peer-reviewed journal articles featuring the company’s seliciclib (CYC202 or R-roscovitine) drug candidate, an orally available inhibitor of multiple cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). CDKs have been extensively investigated as therapeutic targets in light of their frequent deregulation in lung carcinogenesis. In an article published in Clinical Cancer Research, seliciclib was found to be effective in killing lung cancer cells through a novel apoptotic mechanism or induction of cancer cell suicide. Nearly all lung cancer cell lines against which seliciclib was most effective had Ras-activating mutations. Ras is a family of mutations which make lung cancer cells highly resistant to approved drugs such as those targeting epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR).
