BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Oncometabolite takedown

April 11, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. has reported the first mutant-selective inhibitors of the metabolic enzymes IDH1 and IDH2 and has shown that the molecules have a therapeutic effect in preclinical cancer models.1,2 The company also announced a partnership with Foundation Medicine Inc. to develop companion diagnostics to identify patients with cancer who have the mutations.

The metabolic enzymes IDH1 (isocitrate dehydrogenase 1) and IDH2 are somatically mutated in multiple cancers, including about 50%-80% of low-grade gliomas and 9% of acute myelogenous leukemias (AMLs). All of the identified mutations alter one of three arginine residues found in the enzymes' active site...