VASTox initiates fifth drug discovery cancer programme
focusing on a crucial pathway that is active in the developing
embryo when cells are required to constantly grow and
differentiate. The pathway has been identified as a viable drug
target.
The Wnt pathway is one of the most important developmental signalling pathways. It is required for multiple aspects of mammalian development and aberrant signalling through this pathway has been linked to human diseases including cancer, developmental disorders and neural degenerative diseases. The pathway is normally inactive in adults and only switched on again in cancers.
VASTox are using whole organisms to carry out its screening activities as the approach has the potential for saving significant time and cost in the development of new drug candidates when compared to conventional drug discovery processes.
"We are now in a position to add additional drug discovery programmes," commented Dr Steven Lee, CEO of >VASTox.
"By using in vivo models at the first stage of our Wnt drug discovery programme, we are confident that the hits we identify will show low toxicity and quickly form the basis of lead candidates."
Signalling pathways are the subject of intense research and commercial activity in the life sciences industry. The Wnt pathway refers to a sequence of biological processes that are essential for the healthy development of embryos.
Once the embryo has developed the pathways become more specialised and carefully regulated.
The Wnt signalling pathway is remarkably well conserved between fruitflies and humans and is essential in the development of the cell differentiation, organ formation and cell growth.
VASTox has developed model fruitflies that demonstrate unregulated reactions of beta-catenin; a crucial step in the Wnt pathway. Finding chemicals that regulate this reaction in the fruitfly will be an important start in regulating this pathway in humans.
As a fundamental biological process, the malfunctioning of the Wnt pathway has been implicated in a wide range of diseases and disorders such as unregulated cell growth such as cancer tumours.
Vastox said that with three proprietary in vivo screening programmes using zebrafish (for the Company's osteoarthritis programme) and fruitflies (for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Wnt programmes), the Company would look to announce progress in terms of hit selection within the next six months.
VASTox was formed in January 2003 from the University of Oxford. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM in October 2004 and successfully raised an additional £10 million via a secondary placing in March 2006.
