Kadmon Corporation Presents Data Demonstrating Role Of V-ATPase In EGFR Signaling

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - June 19, 2015) - Kadmon Corporation, LLC, today announced preclinical data demonstrating the role of endosomal vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) in signaling of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), potentially offering a novel drug target for the treatment of EGFR-driven cancers. The data will be described in a poster presentation at the Gordon Research Conference on Bioenergetics: Structures, Mechanisms and Targets of Human Disease, taking place June 21-26 in Andover, NH.

The EGFR signaling pathway plays a key role in cell proliferation and migration and is a known driver of several cancer types. The data presented demonstrate that EGFR signaling is modulated by V-ATPase, a chemical complex that controls pH of intracellular compartments and affects many cellular functions. Specifically, researchers showed that the V-ATPase complex regulates the progression of macropinocytosis, the process by which cells internalize extracellular fluid, which plays a key role in nutrient uptake in tumors. V-ATPase also modulates cancer cell proliferation by regulating signaling and recycling of EGFR to the plasma membrane. The researchers propose that regulating the interaction between V-ATPase and EGFR may have therapeutic utility in treating EGFR-driven cancers.

“V-ATPase lies at the signaling hub for a variety of cellular pathways, including EGFR, which plays a key role in cancer growth and proliferation,” said Vladimir Marshansky, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Director, Molecular Signaling at Kadmon and co-author of the report. “These findings provide greater understanding about how EGFR signaling is deregulated in certain cancers.”

“EGFR has long been the focus of many cancer therapies, but resistance to current targeted drugs remains a growing problem in treating patients with EGFR-driven cancers,” said Harlan W. Waksal, M.D., President and CEO of Kadmon. “To address EGFR resistance, Kadmon is currently exploring the interaction between EGFR and V-ATPase as a potential therapeutic target for development of novel protein-protein interface inhibitors, including therapeutic small molecules and biologics, to be used in conjunction with EGFR inhibitors.”

About Kadmon Corporation
Kadmon Corporation, LLC, is a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative products for significant unmet medical needs. We have a diversified product pipeline in autoimmune and fibrotic diseases, oncology, monogenic diseases and metabolic disease. For more information, visit www.kadmon.com.

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