June 10, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC) (NASDAQ: CYCCP) announced that Cyclacel scientists reported preclinical data supporting potential combinations of sapacitabine, a novel nucleoside analog, with novel targeted agents and other nucleoside analogs for the treatment of cancer.

The combinations exploit sapacitabine’s unique mechanism of action and were shown to be effective in models of leukemia and solid tumors. The data were presented at a poster presentation on Saturday, June 6 at the 14th Congress of the European Hematology Association in Berlin, Germany.

“We are encouraged by the wide spectrum of anti-cancer agents that result in synergy when combined with sapacitabine. The EHA data extend previously reported data and support clinical evaluation of sapacitabine given with various anti-cancer agents as combination treatment for leukemia and other cancers,” said Spiro Rombotis, president and CEO. “A week ago at the ASCO conference we reported interim Phase 2 data that pave the way for a pivotal trial of sapacitabine as a single agent in elderly patients with leukemia. We look forward to developing the broad therapeutic potential of sapacitabine to benefit patients in need of new treatment options.”

The results, arising from a combination screen of over 30 compounds from several chemical families, showed robust synergy when sapacitabine was combined with inhibitors of cell cycle checkpoints, cell survival, and DNA repair, including targeted inhibitors of ATM, BCL2, CHK1, DNA-PK and PARP.

In addition, increased apoptosis or cancer cell death was observed when sapacitabine was administered in combination with other nucleoside analogs which inhibit ribonucleotide reductase, such as clofarabine and gemcitabine.

The findings extend previously reported data supporting the combination of sapacitabine with demethylating agents or HDAC inhibitors.

Sapacitabine is an orally-available, investigational, nucleoside analog drug that acts through a dual mechanism.

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