CytRx Reports Significant Strategy Shift for Anti-Aging Drugs

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a biopharmaceutical company and a leader in molecular chaperone regulation technology, today announced that a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Gerontologyconcluded that molecular chaperone amplification may represent a “significant strategy” in the future design of anti-aging pharmaceuticals

The paper’s authors, led by Stuart K. Calderwood, Ph.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, reviewed 40 clinical and animal studies in peer-reviewed publications and found that molecular chaperones play an important role in the deterrence of protein damage during the aging process and that chaperone expression is required for cell longevity.

CytRx currently has two orally administered, clinical-stage molecular chaperone drug candidates and recently discovered a series of additional compounds that may provide a pipeline for additional drug candidates. In addition, the company has submitted a revised protocol to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its clinical trial with arimoclomol as a treatment for ALS with the expectation that the clinical hold will be lifted in the current quarter.

“This extensive review of scientific data from multiple clinicians provides independent verification of the considerable potential of molecular chaperones in designing pharmaceuticals to treat a multitude of age-related diseases and disorders. This opens new blockbuster opportunities for our molecular chaperone technology beyond the large neurodegenerative disease, stroke recovery and neuropathy markets that we have been investigating,” said CytRx’s President and CEO Steven A. Kriegsman. “The abstract’s conclusions add to the continually growing validation in the scientific literature of the tremendous commercial potential of our chaperone amplifying drug candidates. Several interested pharmaceutical suitors are currently evaluating potential partnerships aimed at advancing development of this technology, which will allow for greater internal focus on developing our considerable oncology assets.”

In the paper, “The Shock of Aging: Molecular Chaperones and the Heat Shock Response in Longevity and Aging – A Mini-Review,” in the September 2009 edition of Gerontology (volume 55, pages 550-558), the authors found that molecular chaperone expression declines with aging, setting the stage for more interrogation of the role of molecular chaperone amplification in aging and longevity in human patients.

The CytRx drug development pipeline includes programs in clinical development for cancer indications, including tamibarotene in a potential registration study for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In addition, CytRx is developing two drug candidates based on its industry-leading molecular chaperone technology, which aims to repair or degrade misfolded proteins associated with disease. CytRx also maintains a 36% equity interest in publicly traded RXi Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXII)