
Initial Target
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and affects one in eight during their lifetime. Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any other cancer except lung cancer. In 2005 basal-like or "triple negative" breast cancer was identified and characterized. Basal-like breast cancer has some unique characteristics and is the type of breast cancer that BRCA1 mutation (genetic marker) carriers generally develop. It comprises about 15% of all breast cancers, but represents 39% of young African-American women who develop breast cancer. It is very aggressive and has a high mortality rate. It is primarily treated with chemotherapy and is not a candidate for ER-targeted or HER2-targeted therapies.
It is the target of our first drug candidate, CDIM9.
Status
We are currently completing the preclinical evaluations, preparing the Investigational New Drug (IND) application and anticipate entering human clinical trials in 2010.