LEXINGTON, Mass., Apr 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that Synta will present multiple posters at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010 to be held April 17-21, 2010 in Washington, DC. The presentations will include three posters on STA-9090, a potent inhibitor of Hsp90, which further differentiate the compound from other agents in this class and two posters on elesclomol, a small-molecule oxidative stress inducer, which further elucidate the mechanism of action and guide towards choice of patients for future trials.

STA-9090 Posters

"Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090 induces HIF-1a degradation in the hypoxic regions of solid tumors" (abstract #2638) - Apr. 19, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET; Regulation of Protein Stability; Poster Section 26, Board 16.

"Multimodal action of the Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090 in treating cancer cells with activated JAK/STAT signaling" (abstract #2640) - Apr. 19, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET; Regulation of Protein Stability; Poster Section 26, Board 18.

"Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090 enhances the activity of standard of care therapies in erlotinib-sensitive and -resistant NSCLC models" (abstract #2637) - Apr. 19, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET; Regulation of Protein Stability; Poster Section 26, Board 15.

Elesclomol Posters

"Anticancer activity of elesclomol correlates with low LDH levels and active mitochondrial respiration" (abstract #4545) - Apr. 20, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET; Tumor Metabolism and Regulation of Apoptosis; Poster Section 26, Board 25.

"Targeting ROS to kill cisplatin-resistant cells" (abstract #4525) - Apr. 20, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET; Tumor Metabolism and Regulation of Apoptosis; Poster Section 26, Board 5.

About STA-9090

STA-9090 is a potent, synthetic, small-molecule Hsp90 inhibitor, with a chemical structure unrelated to the first-generation, ansamycin family of Hsp90 inhibitors (e.g., 17-AAG and IPI-504). In preclinical studies, STA-9090 has shown potency up to 100 times greater than the first-generation Hsp90 inhibitors as well as activity against a wider range of kinases. In in vitro and in vivo models, STA-9090 has shown potent activity against a wide range of cancer types, including lung, prostate, colon, breast, gastric, pancreatic, melanoma and certain hematologic cancers - as well as potent activity against cancers resistant to imatinib (Gleevec^(R)), sunitinib (Sutent^(R)), erlotinib (Tarceva^(R)), and dasatanib (Sprycel^(R)).

Synta is currently conducting six clinical trials with STA-9090: Phase 2 trials of STA-9090 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST); two trials in hematologic cancers; and two Phase 1 trials in solid tumor cancers. Additional clinical trials for STA-9090 are planned for later in 2010. Information on clinical trials with STA-9090 can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Hsp90

Hsp90 is a chaperone protein required for the proper folding and activation of other cellular proteins, particularly kinases. Many of these "client proteins" of Hsp90 - such as AKT, BCR-ABL, BRAF, KIT, MET, EGFR, FLT3, HER2, PDGFRA, VEGFR - have been shown to be critical to cancer cell growth, proliferation, and survival and are the targets of clinically validated cancer drugs. In preclinical studies, inhibiting Hsp90 causes the degradation of multiple client proteins and leads to cancer cell death. Because mutated kinases which no longer respond to treatment with kinase inhibitors remain dependent on Hsp90 for their activity, inhibiting Hsp90 offers the potential for treating cancers that have become resistant to targeted therapies such as kinase inhibitors.

About Elesclomol

Elesclomol induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells by disrupting cancer cell energy production and metabolism. In laboratory studies, elesclomol has been observed to increase the level of reactive oxygen species in cancer cells beyond sustainable levels, triggering the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. This mechanism of action represents a novel way of selectively targeting and killing cancer cells.

About Synta Pharmaceuticals

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to extend and enhance the lives of patients with severe medical conditions, including cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. Synta has a unique chemical compound library, an integrated discovery engine, and a diverse pipeline of clinical- and preclinical-stage drug candidates with distinct mechanisms of action and novel chemical structures. All Synta drug candidates were invented by Synta scientists using our compound library and discovery capabilities. For more information, please visit www.syntapharma.com.

SOURCE: Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Rob Kloppenburg, 781-541-7125