Jefferson School of Pharmacy Faculty Member Produces Prostate Cancer Drug Candidate

Dr. Vincent C. O. Njar, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University’s School of Pharmacy, produced a new drug that is a candidate for resistant prostate cancer. The clinical trials of the drug, TOK-001 (formerly VN/124-1), started on November 5, 2009, when the first study participant received it at Cancer Centers of the Carolinas/Greenville Hospital, South Carolina.

Every year in the U.S., over 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths of men. Prostate cancer cells are unique in that their growth is stimulated and supported by the male sex hormones, or androgens, which are produced mainly in the testes. Prostate cancer can be treated by surgical removal of the testes or through the use of medications that reduce androgen production. However, in many individuals, these therapies fail after several years, allowing the cancer to regrow and thrive as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

The only currently approved treatment for CRPC is taxotere, which has serious side effects in some patients, thus limiting its use. An effective treatment that is better tolerated by patients would extend survival and improve quality of life. TOK-001 can potentially reduce the production of androgen, block androgen interaction with intracellular receptors that mediate the hormone’s effects and reduce the number of receptors available to interact with the hormone.

TOK-001 was developed by Dr. Njar in collaboration with Angela Brodie, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The current clinical development of the candidate drug is being sponsored by Tokai Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts, which holds exclusive license for the technology.

Contact:
Jane Clinton
jane.clinton@jefferson.edu
(215) 503-9865

Published: 11-06-09

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