Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics, announced that collaborators Cancer Research UK and its commercial arm Cancer Research Technology (CRT) are launching a trial of an experimental drug shown to simultaneously block many enzymes that control cancer cell growth and death.

The 'master-switch' experimental drug, owned by Astex Pharmaceuticals, is being studied in a range of cancer types.

Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office (DDO) will fund, manage and sponsor this early-stage phase I clinical trial of up to 40 patients at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden Hospital.

The drug, AT13148, is one of eight drugs to be developed through Cancer Research UK's Clinical Development Partnerships program, which is a joint initiative between the charity's DDO and CRT. The program develops promising cancer drugs that pharmaceutical companies do not have the resources to progress through early phase clinical trials to see if they can benefit cancer patients. Without this programme many promising drugs would be left on the shelves gathering dust.

AT13148 is a multi-AGC kinase inhibitor that inhibits several enzymes in the PI3K - AKT tumor cell survival pathway including protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) and p70S6K. AT13148 shows a distinct mechanism of action from other AKT inhibitors. Pre-clinical research was published recently.

The molecule was originally discovered by scientists on the PKB drug discovery programme, a collaboration between Astex Pharmaceuticals, CRT and The Institute of Cancer Research, which ran from 2003 through 2006.

Harren Jhoti, PhD, Astex Pharmaceuticals president and director said, "We are very gratified with the progress that the collaboration has achieved and that this work has progressed into the clinic."

Astex Pharmaceuticals can decide to develop the drug further based on the phase I/IIa clinical trial data. If it chooses not to, Cancer Research Technology has the rights to secure an alternative partner and ensure the drug has every possible chance of reaching patients.

Dr. Victoria John, head of clinical partnerships at Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office said, "We're delighted to open the first clinical trial of this experimental drug to find out if it can benefit cancer patients in the future. This molecule was brought to us at a very early stage in its development and, with the preclinical work now completed, we're extremely pleased it's obtained regulatory approval to enter the clinic."

The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is one of the world's most influential cancer research institutes. Scientists and clinicians at the ICR are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients' lives.

The Institute of Cancer Research's Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit is the world's leading academic drug discovery team. It has discovered 16 new drug candidates over the past six years, with six of these progressing to phase I clinical trial and one drug  abiraterone being licensed in the US, Canada and Europe for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Cancer Research Technology (CRT) is a specialist commercialization and development company, which aims to develop new discoveries in cancer research for the benefit of cancer patients.

Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office has an impressive record of developing novel treatments for cancer. It currently has a portfolio of around 35 new anti-cancer agents in preclinical development, phase I or early phase II clinical trials.

Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.