Piramal Healthcare is going to present data on three of its investigational new drug (IND) candidates at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being convened in Chicago from March 31 to April 4, 2012. The annual meeting of the AACR is one of the largest annual scientific meetings covering all major areas of cancer research. Each year, more than 17,000 participants from over 60 countries gather to present and discuss basic, translational, and clinical research in every sub-discipline.

The four poster presentations from Piramal Healthcare will report results from preclinical studies of the following lead clinical candidates: P1446A-05, an orally active cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor; P2745, an orally bioavailable molecule effective in imatinib resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia cell lines including those with the T315I mutation; and P7170, an orally active PI3K/mTOR and ALK-1 inhibitor with anti-tumour and anti-angiogenic activity. In vitro and in vivo data as well as mechanistic studies for all three compounds will be discussed. Currently, both P1446A-05 and P2745 are undergoing phase I clinical trials and an IND application for conducting phase I clinical studies has been filed for P7170.
Dr Swati Piramal, director, Piramal Healthcare, stated, “We are pleased to present key results of the pre clinical evaluation of our lead anti-cancer candidate molecules at this important international scientific meeting. Our work in this area reaffirms our commitment to changing the paradigm of drug discovery by using Indian drug discovery capabilities to build a diversified and strong pipeline of products to address unmet medical needs.”
Cancer is a complex group of diseases fueled by many underlying mechanisms. Research and development (R&D) at Piramal Healthcare is built on recent discoveries in molecular genomics, rational drug design and state-of-the-art drug discovery technologies. The robust R&D programme has enabled the company to advance a broad range of innovative therapies in development, including various phases of clinical trials.

Dr Somesh Sharma, chief executive officer, drug discovery and development, Piramal Healthcare, added, “We are very excited to present to the international scientific community our data on three promising anticancer compounds, two of which are undergoing phase I clinical trials. These are very encouraging results which extend our understanding of the mechanism of action and anti-tumour activity of our clinical candidates.”

These presentations at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 on three new investigational drug candidates highlight Piramal Healthcare’s continued commitment to exploring new treatment options for cancer through novel mechanisms and targets, and building up a robust oncology pipeline.