BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Agonizing switch in prostate cancer

June 27, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc. researchers have uncovered how a specific androgen receptor mutation results in turning second-generation antagonists for prostate cancer into agonists.1 The results could allow the company, which is being acquired by Johnson & Johnson, to develop third-generation molecules that overcome the resistance mechanism.

Antiandrogen drugs were the first targeted therapy approved for prostate cancer and have substantially improved survival rates for patients. However, many castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPCs) become resistant to antiandrogens because of elevated androgen receptor expression or mutation.2...