TargeGen Inc, a biotechnology company announced that TG 100-435, a potent and selective orally available kinase inhibitor, has been designated as a lead drug for clinical development in oncology and edema indications.

Pre-clinical studies with this class of agents have indicated that it targets a unique set of kinases involved in vascular leak, VEGF- and FGF-driven angiogenesis, tumour proliferation, survival and metastases, which is reflected in the compound's oral efficacy in edema and cancer models.

"While we are still quite early in the development process, the data from the studies conducted to date lead us to be very excited. We believe it may have potential for human therapeutics application in a number of diseases including cancer, edema associated with any of several disorders, and eye diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy", stated Peter G. Ulrich, CEO and Co-Founder of TargeGen. "We are hopeful that by late 2005, TG 100-435 will be our second compound in the clinic after TG 100-115 for acute myocardial infarction which is expected to be in clinical trials in the second half of this year," he added.

TargeGen is developing novel small molecule therapeutics to treat edema, cancer and ischemic diseases (heart attack, stroke) by targeting certain biochemical processes associated with the formation and repair of blood vessels and vascular permeability (VP).