ORY-1001 (known as RG 6016) is a Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1, also known as KDM1A) inhibitor (IC50 <20nM) with high selectivity against related FAD dependent aminoxidases (MAO-A/B, IL4I1, KDM1B >100uM, SMOX 7uM). LSD1 is a histone eraser enzyme that removes methyl groups, specifically mono and demethylated H3K4 and H3K9, and by doing so regulates the expression of many genes important in the onset and progression of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. ORY-1001 is a lead drug candidate of Oryzon Genomics S.A. under development for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – phase I/II and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) – phase I. Oryzon has made significant progress with ORY-1001 over the past years.

AST-487 is an inhibitor of RET (IC50 = 0.88 uM), FLT3 (Ki = 0.52 uM), KDR (IC50 = 0.17 uM), c-Abl (IC50 = 0.02 uM), and c-Kit (IC50 = 0.5 uM). AST-487 has potent and selective antiproliferative effects 7 on primary AML patient cells and cell lines expressing FLT3-ITD or FLT3 kinase domain point mutants. AST-487, which selectively targets mutant FLT3 protein kinase activity, is also shown to override PKC412 resistance in vitro, and has significant antileukemic activity in an in vivo model of FLT3-ITD(+) leukemia. Finally, the combination of NVP-AST487 with standard chemotherapeutic agents leads to enhanced inhibition of proliferation of mutant FLT3-expressing cells. AST-487 displays high selectivity and potency toward FLT3 as a molecular target, and could potentially be used to override drug resistance in AML.

A-674563 is a potent, orally available Akt1 inhibitor with an IC50 value of 11nM. Also displays activity against PKA and CDK2 with IC50 values of 16nM and 46nM respectively. A-674563 dose-dependently inhibited survival and proliferation of U937 AML cells and six lines of human AML progenitor cells, yet sparing human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBMCs). A-674563 activated caspase-3/9 and apoptosis in the AML cells. intraperitoneal injection of A-674563 at well-tolerated doses suppressed U937 leukemic xenograft tumor growth in nude mice, whiling significantly improving the animal survival. A-674563 exerts potent anti-leukemic activity in vitro and in vivo, possibly via concurrent targeting Akt and SphK1 signalings. A-674563 also exerts potent anti-melanoma activity, involving Akt-dependent and Akt-independent mechanisms.

NVP-ADW742 is a novel small weight molecular inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-IR), which is investigated for treatment of different types of cancers.

PIK-75 is a specific inhibitor of the p110 α isoform of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, an enzyme which is upregulated in several human cancers. PIK-75 is a p110α inhibitor with IC50 of 5.8 nM (200-fold more potently than p110β), it is also an inhibitor of CDK9. Cell-based assays revealed that PIK-75 potently and dose dependently inhibits in vitro and in vivo production of TNF-alpha and IL-6, diminishes the induced expression of human endothelial cell adhesion molecules (E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1), and blocks human monocyte-endothelial cell adhesion. Most importantly, PIK-75, when administered orally in a therapeutic regimen, significantly suppresses the macroscopic and histological abnormalities associated with dextran sulfate sodium-induced murine colitis. The efficacy of PIK-75 in attenuating experimental inflammation is mediated, at least in part, due to the downregulation of pertinent inflammatory mediators in the colon. Collectively, these results provide first evidence that PIK-75 possesses anti-inflammatory potential. Given that PIK-75 is known to exhibit anti-cancer activity, the findings from this study thus reinforce the cross-therapeutic functionality of potential drugs.

PP-242 is a selective mTOR inhibitor with IC50 of 8 nM. mTOR has emerged as an important drug target, and PP-242 is the first selective and ATP competitive inhibitor of mTOR that has been described. Unlike rapamycin, PP-242 inhibits both mTORC1 and mTORC2. PP-242 suppresses bladder cancer cell proliferation and migration through deactivating the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2/AKT1 signaling pathway. PP242 also inhibits several protein kinases including PKC, RET and JAK2 kinases. PP-242 shows strong antitumor activity in a pheochromocytoma PC12 cell tumor model. PP-242 suppresses cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis of gastric cancer through inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. PP-242 induces apoptosis in AML cells under conditions mimicking the bone marrow microenvironment.

One of the most important trichothecene, verrucarin J produced by several genera of fungi that may contaminate foods of both human and animal. Verrucarin J has shown cytotoxic activity in human HL-60 cell line and murine L1210 cell line.

Oridonin is a diterpenoid purified from Rabdosia rubescens. In traditional Chinese medicine oridonin powder (Donglingcao herb extract) is used as an over-the-counter medicine because of its anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and other effects. Oridonin was shown to inhibit many tumor cell lines in vitro and its mechanism of action is mainly explained by inhibition of NF-kB signaling, Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway and upregulation of p53/p21 signaling and ROS production.

MK-8776 (SCH-900776) is a checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitor which was developed by Merck for the treatment of cancer. The drug was tested in phase II clinical trials on patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (in combination with cytarabine) and in phase I on patients suffering from solid tumors or lymphoma (as monotherapy and in combination with gemcitabine).

Alantolactone and isoalantolactone, main bioactive compounds that are present in many medicinal plants such as Inula helenium, L. Inula japonica, Aucklandia lappa, Inula racemosa, and Radix inulae, have been found to have various pharmacological actions including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties, with no significant toxicity. Alantolactone and isoalantolactone have been reported for their wide spectrum of biological effects, including antifungal, anthelmintic activities, antimicrobial activities, anti-inflammatory activities, antitrypanosomal activities, and antiproliferative effects on several cancer cell lines, such as colon, melanoma, ovary, prostate, lung, and leukemia. Alantolactone isolated from Inula helenium (Compositae), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, provides an effective inhibitory activity for cell growth against MK-1, HeLa, B16F10, and K562 cell lines. Many other human cancer cell lines, including U87 glioma cells, Bel-742, SMMC-7721 and HepG2 liver cancer cells, PANC-1 pancreatic carcinoma cells, A59 lung cancer cells, colon adenocarcinoma HCT-8 cells, CNS cancer cell line SF-295, leukemia HL-60, Hepa1c1c7 cells, BPRc1 Hepatic cancer cells, and HCT-8 colon cancer cells, have also been reported for apoptosis caused by alantolactone.