LA JOLLA, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Intellikine, Inc. has initiated a Phase I clinical trial for its targeted anticancer drug INK128, a novel orally-available small molecule inhibitor of both the TORC1 and TORC2 complexes, key components of the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway.
The mTOR kinase represents a central node in human cancer biology and has become an important target for oncology drug development. Unlike other drugs targeting the pathway, INK128 directly inhibits the activity associated with both the TORC1 and TORC2 complexes of the mTOR kinase. This direct inhibition and dual activity differentiates INK128 from rapamycin and related analogs, or rapalogs, which predominately modulate TORC1 activity. By inhibiting both TORC1 and TORC2, INK128 more potently inhibits mTOR kinase and may provide for greater efficacy.
The Phase I trial is a dose escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single-agent INK128 in patients with advanced tumors. The study is evaluating pharmacodynamic correlation between INK128 exposure and biomarkers of the mTOR pathway as well as candidate predictive markers and is being conducted initially at three sites: Premiere Oncology in Scottsdale, Arizona; Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
Intellikine, Inc.
