Kadmon Presents Preclinical Data Supporting the Therapeutic Potential of ROCK Inhibition in Pulmonary Fibrosis
March 28 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
-- Data Validate the Role of ROCK Signaling in
Fibrotic Disease --
Kadmon Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KDMN) (“Kadmon”) today announced
preclinical data demonstrating the importance of the Rho-associated
coiled-coil kinase (ROCK) signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of
pulmonary fibrosis, supporting the therapeutic potential of ROCK
inhibition to treat the disease. The data will be presented today
as a poster at the 2017 Keystone Symposia on Injury, Inflammation
and Fibrosis, taking place in Snowbird, UT.
“These data demonstrate that ROCK inhibition blocks multiple
cell signaling mechanisms that drive pulmonary fibrosis, including
α-SMA expression and endothelial and epithelial cell function,”
said Masha Poyurovsky, PhD, Vice President, Head of Molecular
Signaling at Kadmon. “By targeting ROCK, we can disrupt fundamental
aspects of the TGFβ signaling pathway to potentially treat
pulmonary fibrosis.”
Recent studies conducted by Kadmon and others have shown that
ROCK signaling plays a key role in the development of pulmonary
fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs that can lead to organ failure
and death. Specifically, the ROCK pathway mediates cell signaling
of Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGFβ), a master regulator of wound
healing response that is essential for proper functions of multiple
tissues. By targeting ROCK, Kadmon researchers believe that they
can inhibit fibrosis while avoiding the toxicities associated with
broad TGFβ inhibition.
To investigate the therapeutic potential of ROCK inhibition in
fibrosis, Kadmon researchers generated a series of potent small
molecule ROCK inhibitors and assessed their ability to modulate
cellular mechanisms underlying aberrant signaling in pulmonary
fibrosis. The findings demonstrated that ROCK inhibition blocks the
expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), the defining component
of fibrosis-causing myofibroblast cells. Along with targeting α-SMA
expression, ROCK inhibition reduces the activity of endothelial
cells and epithelial cells, major contributors to the progressive
organ injury associated with fibrosis. In summary, researchers
determined that ROCK activity is essential to the fibrotic process
and that ROCK inhibition shows potential in treating pulmonary
fibrosis.
“Through our ROCK research platform, we continue to establish
the importance of ROCK signaling in fibrotic disease,” said Harlan
W. Waksal, M.D., President and CEO at Kadmon. “These findings
further support the clinical development of our ROCK inhibitor
KD025, for which we have three ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials,
including in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.”
About Kadmon Holdings, Inc.
Kadmon Holdings, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical
company developing innovative products for significant unmet
medical needs. We have a diversified product pipeline in autoimmune
and fibrotic diseases, oncology and genetic diseases.
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For Kadmon Holdings, Inc.Investor RelationsEllen Tremaine,
646-490-2989ellen.tremaine@kadmon.comorMaeve Conneighton,
212-600-1902maeve@argotpartners.com
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