Syndexa: De-stressing diabetes

Most marketed diabetes drugs, such as the insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinediones, address the disease's symptoms but have no meaningful impact on progression. Syndexa Pharmaceuticals Corp. thinks its small molecule programs targeting c-jun N-terminal kinase and endoplasmic reticulum stress will address the underlying cause of metabolic diseases. The company hopes to have a candidate from one of the two programs in human testing to treat Type II diabetes by 2011.

"Our goal is to target earlier events, prior to when pancreatic beta cells are dead or dying, because by this point, the microvascular complications are immense, and affecting the actual disease is profoundly difficult," said President and CEO Teo Uysal...