Luna Quest is an emerging technology company pioneering a new approach to arresting tumor cell growth through targeted therapies.

Targeted therapeutics offer the promise of high efficacy with minimal systemic toxicity. Most targeted therapeutics are focused on upstream targets such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). These upstream targets control a broad range of cellular functions. Thus, inhibition of these upstream kinases can affect both normal and cancerous tissue, resulting in significant side effects.

RSK, or p90 ribosomal S6 kinase, is a downstream effector of MAPK. RSK sits at a key regulatory node in which incoming signals are translated by the cell into changes in gene expression. Remarkably, there are fundamental differences in the way these signals are interpreted in normal versus cancer cells.

Luna Quest and our collaborators at the University of Virginia have identified that the RSK pathway is a key regulator of cancer cell proliferation. With our discovery of a novel, proprietary RSK inhibitor, SL0101, we have been able to demonstrate that the inhibition of RSK proliferation of human cancer lines but does not prevent proliferation of normal human lines. For example, SL0101 inhibits the growth of the human breast cancer line MCF-7 but does not affect the normal human breast line MCF-10A. These discoveries uncovered an unexpected link between RSK activity and tumor cell proliferation that indicates that RSK is an important new target for chemotherapeutic agents.

We have successfully developed several synthetic routes to produce SL0101 and derivatives. Structure-activity relationships of a series of synthetic derivatives are underway. Additionally, in vivo ADME studies are ongoing to identify the most promising pre-clinical candidates.

Luna Quest is actively seeking partners who have access to new libraries of compounds to screen for additional leads. Luna Quest has exclusive worldwide use of the patent family that includes RSK as a novel therapeutic target and SL0101.

For Further Information Contact Us: Email: Phone: 1(434)972-9951 Fax: 1(434)972-9956