VioQuest commences Ph I/IIa US trial of VDQ-002

The USA's VioQuest Pharmaceuticals has dosed the first patient in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of its drug candidate VQD-002 (triciribine phosphate) in leukemia patients. The firm has chosen to test its Akt inhibitor in this indication because approximately 70% of those with leukemia have tumors with hyper-phosphorylated and thereby overactivated forms of this protein, which is involved in tumor proliferation.

According to VioQuest, while a number of other companies are conducting research on Akt inhibitors, it believes that VQD-002 is the only compound in development that is a direct, specific inhibitor of the Akt protein, as well as being the most clinically advanced.