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www.fdanews.com/articles/81353-avalon-pharmaceuticals-announces-the-activation-of-ind-for-avn944

AVALON PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES THE ACTIVATION OF IND FOR AVN944

October 3, 2005

Avalon Pharmaceuticals has announced the activation of an investigational new drug application for AVN944 by the FDA. The allowance permits Avalon to initiate a Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced hematological malignancies.

AVN944 is an oral, small-molecule inhibitor of the enzyme inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme that is essential for the de novo synthesis of the nucleotide guanosine triphosphate (GTP). AVN944 appears to inhibit cell proliferation by denying dividing cells of the GTP necessary for synthesis of DNA and RNA. IMPDH is highly upregulated in hematologic cancers, but many other types of cancer cells are also sensitive to IMPDH inhibition.