Our mission at ChemGenex is to develop personalized medicines for the treatment of cancer. By focusing on validated targets in diseases with genetic components, we seek to bring targeted therapeutics to market that address chronic diseases with high unmet medical need. Our clinical pipeline of cancer drugs, coupled with our discovery and development programs, provide us with a solid foundation to meet these objectives.

PRODUCT CANDIDATES

• Our first product candidate, OMAPRO™ (omacetaxine mepesuccinate), an investigational small molecule agent, is in Registration-Directed clinical trials to evaluate its safety and potential efficacy for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients with the T315I point mutation who are resistant to Gleevec®. Omacetaxine is also in Phase 2 clinical trials in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Omacetaxine induces the death of cancerous cells through the process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. This drug has demonstrated promising clinical activity in CML patients who have developed resistance to Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate) and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and may offer new options for the increasing number of CML patients who are developing resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
• Our second product candidate, Quinamed® (amonafide dihydrochloride), is in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer. In a Phase 1 study to determine the best dose based on a patient’s genotype, Quinamed® generated responses in patients with refractory prostate, ovarian and gastric tumors. In Phase 2, patients are genotyped prior to therapy to determine how quickly they metabolize the drug and are then assigned a specific dose based on their metabolic profile, or genotype. The goal is to maximize Quinamed®’s therapeutic potential while minimizing drug side-effects.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Our business strategy is to develop personalized medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases by exploiting our understanding of genetic variations associated with disease formation and/or drug response. In doing so, we believe we will benefit patients.

ChemGenex is based in Melbourne, Australia and Menlo Park, California and trades on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CXS.