BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VioQuest Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: VQPH) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company’s product candidate VQD-002 (triciribine phosphate monohydrate or TCN-P) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. VQD-002 is a small molecule anticancer compound that inhibits protein kinase B (PKB or AKT), a key component of a signaling pathway known to promote cancer cell growth and survival as well as resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. VioQuest Pharmaceuticals has reported preliminary Phase I results from ongoing studies in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies and the company plans to advance VQD-002 into Phase II development in 2008.
