Infinity Pharma signs deal with Novartis to develop Bcl-2 targeting cancer drugs

US drugmaker Infinity Pharmaceuticals, a specialist developer of innovative anticancer drugs, says it has entered into a global strategic alliance with Swiss major Novartis to discover and develop drugs which target the Bcl-2 protein family, known to be involved in the survival of cancerous cells. So far, small-molecule based approaches have failed to disrupt the function of these proteins.

Infinity says that the collaboration will combine its small-molecule chemistries and cancer cell survival expertise with Novartis' leadership in drug discovery and development which, it hopes, will result in the creation of important new cancer treatments.

Members of the Bcl-2 protein family are key regulators of apoptosis, and it is proposed that upregulation of the protein that occurs in a cancerous cell allows it to bypass the apoptotic cycle and develop resistance to chemotherapy. The firms expect that Bcl-2 inhibitors will function as single agents in B cell malignancies which are dependent on Bcl-2 family members for their survival, including follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. In addition, because one of the main functions of the target protein family is to enable the survival of cancer cells, it is thought that any drugs developed under the deal will work in combination with Bcl-2 family antagonists to sensitize a broad range of solid tumor types.