Our Approach

Advances in the understanding of how tumor cells differ from normal tissue have made possible the development of a new class of targeted cancer therapies that interrupt processes important to tumor survival and progression. These include anti-angiogenic, anti-metastatic, and cell signaling inhibitors.

Attenuon is developing compounds designed to inhibit multiple pathways required for tumor growth and progression. Some are designed to act against both tumor cells and the endothelial cells which form the blood vessels that fuel tumor growth. Most tumors, regardless of the tissue from which they originate, rely on the processes that Attenuon is targeting, so the therapies may be active against many different cancers.

Attenuon's drug candidates are not expected to replace existing therapies, but instead to complement them. ATN-224 and ATN-161, which are currently in phase II clinical trials, are intended to be combined with traditional therapies used to initially reduce tumor mass in order to make such traditional therapies more effective. ATN-224, by inhibiting an enzyme known as copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, is believed to affect multiple signaling pathways which have been demonstrated to be important in endothelial and tumor cell proliferation and survival and which may help these cells survive attacks from conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. By inhibiting these pathways, such therapies may be made more effective at killing cancer cells. The use of novel therapies such as ATN-224 and ATN-161 could also make surgery more effective, as cancerous cells released into circulation during primary tumor removal could be prevented from growing into metastases.

The novel therapies Attenuon is developing could make chemotherapy more effective by making tumors more susceptible to chemotherapy by interrupting the tumors' blood supply and protective mechanisms. Attenuon's therapies could potentially also be used as a standard follow-up therapy after chemotherapy to prevent tumor re-growth and metastasis. Cancer is generally not fatal unless tumors metastasize beyond their primary site. By containing or preventing tumor metastasis, it may be possible to transform cancer into a manageable, non-life threatening condition treated with chronic drug therapy.