OUR STRATEGIES
Protein kinases are at the nexus of signaling networks that connect and regulate all cellular processes. Dysregulation of kinases by over-expression/activation or mutation is often linked to disease onset and progression. The important role of kinases has spurred a considerable effort towards kinase-targeting drugs. With 518 wild-types and a number of clinically relevant mutants presented in the human kinome, protein kinases have become the second largest family of drug targets next to G-protein-coupled receptors, with more than 30 kinase inhibitors approved by the FDA to date.
Built on its expertise in developing kinase-focused cell signaling products and delivering discovery services for academia and pharmaceutical industry, SignalChem has uniquely positioned itself in the forefront of kinase inhibitor drug discovery. Its advantages include, but not limited to, the largest and ever-growing repertoire of active kinases and mutant kinases, optimized activity-based assays on multiple assay platforms, broad interactions and partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies.
The Strategies being utilized by SignalChem in its kinase-focused drug discovery programs are highlighted in the following three aspects:
● By leveraging our expertise and experience in kinase biology and medicinal chemistry, a kinome-wide screening platform termed “Kinome Search Engine” has been established for screening against individual members of each kinase family, making the development of designer-crafted kinase drugs a reality. This powerful platform has already yielded a robust pipeline for SignalChem.
● The “Kinome Search Engine” allows us to explore the largely untapped human kinome, to unveil potential targets for combination regimens based on either compensatory relationships or distinct roles in separate pathways involved in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Currently approved drugs covers less than 5% of the known kinases, thus there is substantial opportunity for developing novel therapies for unmet medical needs.
● The largest collection of clinically relevant mutant kinases provides us with ample opportunities to tackle many of the core questions in therapeutics, including disease relapse and drug resistance. This will allow the Company to develop the right drugs to the right patients in a more efficient path with a greater likelihood of success.
Parallel to its drug discovery efforts, SignalChem is taking advantage of its decades of biomarker research and assay development experiences with the aim to develop companion diagnostics to go along with its drug discovery programs. Our goal is to become a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company capable of delivering transformative kinase inhibitor medicine to patients.