Cutting the cancer fat

Nimbus Therapeutics LLC has shown one of its computationally designed acetyl-Coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC; ACAC) inhibitors, dubbed ND-646, can block the fatty acid synthesis that fuels growth of lung tumors, and has developed a biomarker of the compound's activity.

The molecule is among the suite of ACC inhibitors Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) obtained in April when it acquired Nimbus' subsidiary, Nimbus Apollo. Last week, Gilead awarded Nimbus a $200 million milestone payment triggered by an undisclosed event related to GS-0976, another ACC inhibitor in Phase II testing for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). ...