Senex Biotechnology. Inc.

Senex is a clinical stage company focused on preventing transcriptional reprogramming, a process by which cancer cells modify gene expression to adapt to adversarial conditions; such adaptation leads to cancer drug resistance and metastasis. Senex’s lead program targets CDK8/19 Mediator Kinase, a protein complex that regulates transcription, but not cell cycle progression. Since CDK8/19 is not essential for adult organisms, its inhibition suppresses drug resistance and metastasis without unwanted side effects. Senex is developing highly selective small-molecule inhibitors of this protein for the treatment of presently incurable types of prostate cancer and breast cancer. The Company’s lead clinical program, targeting castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), is currently supported by a $1.05 million Translational Science Award from the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Program (DoD PCRP). “The preliminary data are robust and comprehensive in their support and validation of their goal to take SNX631-6 to clinical trials for the treatment of CRPC,” DoD PCRP reviewer. SNX631-6, the Company’s clinical candidate, is an orally available, selective CDK8/19 inhibitor with nanomolar potency, outstanding selectivity, favorable pharmacokinetics and supratherapeutic toleration in repeat dose range finding studies in murine and primate models. “The preliminary data convincingly indicate the ability of SNX631-6 to inhibit development in CRPC of drug resistance, inhibit growth of bone-resident tumors, inhibit angiogenesis, and suppress expression of tumor-promoting genes in the cancer cells”, DoD PCRP reviewer.