METABOLOMICS USED TO IDENTIFY THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF AN ANTI-CANCER DRUGRESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (September 16, 2009) — Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics-driven biomarker discovery and analysis, today announced a new study has been published identifying the mechanism of action of the anti-cancer drug GMX1778. Co-authored by scientists at Gemin X Pharmaceuticals and Metabolon, the paper “The Small Molecule GMX1778 is a Potent Inhibitor of NAD+ Biosynthesis: Strategy for Enhanced Therapy in NAPRT1-Deficient Tumors” appears online ahead of print in Molecular and Cellular Biology. TThe compound GMX1778 is a very promising cancer therapeutic drug currently in phase I clinical trials. However, despite years of intensive research, its mode of action remained unclear. In this publication, the authors describe how, by using an untargeted metabolomic approach based on Metabolon’s proprietary platform, the mode of action of GMX1778 was clearly identified to be in the inhibition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthetic pathway. A series of follow up experiments performed by Gemin X scientists convincingly validated this finding and further narrowed down the target to be nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), a key regulatory enzyme in NAD biosynthesis. Because of its unique mode of action, GMX1778 can be used as a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of human cancers. About MetabolonMetabolon is a diagnostics and services company offering the industry’s leading biochemical profiling platform. Metabolon’s patented platform provides a global analysis of complex biological samples for the discovery of markers and pathways associated with drug action and disease. This metabolomics-driven approach enables the identification of biomarkers useful for the development of a wide range of diagnostics and provides insight into complex biochemical processes such as drug action, toxicology and bioprocess optimization. For more information about Metabolon, please visit www.metabolon.com. |