OSI Begins Clinical Development in c-kit/VEGFR Program

OSI Pharmaceuticals has initiated a Phase I clinical study of OSI-930, the first drug candidate to emerge from the company's research program focused on the identification of dual c-kit/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors.

A second agent from this program, OSI-817, is currently being evaluated in preclinical toxicology experiments prior to entry into the clinic. Both these drug candidates are potent tyrosine kinase inhibitors that block cellular signaling through the receptor tyrosine kinases, c-kit and VEGFR, also known as KDR. The agents are designed to target both cancer cell proliferation and blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis.

The company anticipates moving both candidates through early stages of development before selecting one of the two candidates for full clinical development in cancer patients.