Friday, January 7, 2011

Three Mass. biotechs get $1M from myeloma foundation

By James M. Connolly

Three Boston-area companies are among 11 biotechnology firms nationwide to receive $1 million research awards from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation under the MMRF’s Biotech Investment Awards Program.

Constellation Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Epizyme Inc. of Cambridge and Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. of Natick were among the 11 companies that received $1 million each for development of treatment of multiple myeloma.

According to the MMRF, the Biotech Investment Awards program has already produced results such as new drugs advancing into clinical trials for patients including Astex Therapeutics Ltd.’s AT7519 and Intellikine’s INK128.

“Despite the amazing progress of the last decade, there remains a critical need for more effective treatments and new approaches to treat multiple myeloma as the survival rate for multiple myeloma remains one of the lowest of any cancer,” said Louise M. Perkins, chief scientific officer of the MMRF.

Two of the local companies receiving awards – Constellation and Epizyme – are involved in the emerging area of epigenetic-based drug development. The MMRF, in a press release, emphasized the importance of epigenetic targets in both the development and potential treatment of multiple myeloma. Karyopharm is developing drugs that target crucial machinery of the cell involved in the nuclear import and export of key tumor suppressor and growth regulatory proteins in the cell, activating the body’s own systems for eliminating tumor cells.