INDIANAPOLIS, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging leader in small molecule cancer therapeutics addressing critical PI3 Kinase (PI3K) and PTEN cell signaling pathways, today announced that it has received a $2.27 million grant from Indiana’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. The grant, the largest awarded by the Fund this year, will help Semafore advance its lead targeted PI3 Kinase inhibitor, SF1126, into Phase l trials in solid tumor cancers later in 2006. The company also announced that Dr. Thomas Roberts, a world-renowned expert in signal transduction and kinases at Harvard Medical School, has joined Semafore’s Scientific Advisory Board and Dr. Christopher Sweeny of the Indiana University Medical School Cancer Center has joined Semafore as senior medical advisor.
“This substantial grant and the addition of these outstanding individuals to our advisory boards come at a key juncture for Semafore, and we’d like to thank the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and 21st Century Fund for recognizing the potential of our innovative anti-cancer programs,” said Ronald D. Henriksen, chief executive officer of Semafore. “These non-dilutive funds will enable us to move rapidly into clinical trials with our novel PI3K inhibitor, which has shown great promise in preclinical studies in a variety of solid tumor cancers.”
Mr. Henriksen continued, “We are delighted to welcome these new members to our already-distinguished advisory team. Tom Roberts is well known among signal transduction and kinase researchers, where his contributions have made him one of the preeminent figures in the field. We believe that our continuing ability to recruit SAB experts of this stature is a reflection of the clinical and commercial promise of Semafore’s PI3 Kinase and PTEN technologies.”
Dr. Roberts, a professor of pathology at the Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is chair of the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber. His laboratory has played a pioneering role in the development of the field of signal transduction and tyrosine kinases, including recent work in the development of mouse models to study the PTEN/PI3 Kinase/Akt pathway in tumors. A long-time consultant to Novartis, Dr. Roberts has authored more than 140 research articles on kinases and signal transduction in refereed journals.
Semafore also announced the appointment of Dr. Christopher Sweeney to serve as the lead advisor for the company’s clinical development efforts. Dr. Sweeney is currently co-leader of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics Program at Indiana University Cancer Center and assistant professor at Indiana University Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology, with a secondary appointment in Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Sweeney has extensive experience as a lead investigator for investigational cancer drugs targeting novel molecular signaling pathways.
Mr. Henriksen added, “We are delighted that Dr. Sweeney has joined our team as our lead medical advisor. His research and clinical experience in drugs targeting many different cancer signaling pathways is of great value to Semafore as we advance our targeted PI3 Kinase inhibitor, SF1126, into clinical trials.”
About SF1126
Semafore’s lead clinical candidate, SF1126, is a targeted PI3K inhibitor that has demonstrated promising activity and good safety in a variety of preclinical solid tumor models. The company expects to file an IND for SF 1126 in 2006, focusing on cancers known to be dependant on the PI3K pathway. Semafore will be sponsoring two posters on SF1126 that will be presented at the “Late Breaking” session of the 97th Annual American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting to be held April 1-5, 2006, in Washington, D.C.: Abstract Number LB-274 (In collaboration with the lab of Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center) and Abstract Number LB-275 (In collaboration with the lab of Donald L. Durden, M.D., Ph.D., of Emory University School of Medicine and the Aflac Cancer Center.)
About Semafore
Semafore is an Indianapolis-based drug discovery and development company focused on small molecule modulators of the PI3 Kinase (PI3K) and PTEN cell signaling pathway, one of the most promising target pathways for multiple disorders, including cancer. Semafore is one of the first biopharmaceutical companies to focus on PI3K and PTEN and has discovered and is developing a portfolio of drug candidates targeting this pathway. Semafore has also discovered the first drug-like small molecule PTEN inhibitors for cell protection, therapeutic angiogenesis and cancer sensitization. These compounds have the potential to change the way cancer and other disorders are treated. For more information, visit the company’s website http://www.semaforepharma.com.
Contacts: Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Media: Derek A. Small Barbara Lindheim Director of Corporate Development GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners (317) 876-3075 (212) 918-4650
Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Derek A. Small, Director of Corporate Development, SemaforePharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-317-876-3075; or Media - Barbara Lindheim ofGendeLLindheim BioCom Partners, +1-212-918-4650
Web site: http://www.semaforepharma.com/
