101441Novel drug candidates for the treatment of castrate resistant prostate cancerClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKProstate cancer is the second leading cause of mortality among men. Initial treatments focus on reducing the levels of circulating male hormones in the body which the cancer requires for growth. Overtime however, in 10-20% of cases, the cancer cells circumvent this treatment and develop into ‘castration-resistant’ prostate cancer (CRPC). This is the lethal form of the disease. CellCentric have identified an enzyme that regulates the cellular processes that lead to the development of this lethal form of the disease. It is proposed to identify and optimise an inhibitor of this enzyme as a potential new drug for the treatment of CRPC. On-going research at CellCentric has identified prototype inhibitors of the enzyme. The research proposal aims to optimise these inhibitors so that they can be assessed for anti-tumour activity in models of CRPC. If these ‘proof of concept’ studies are successful, a candidate compound will be nominated for further evaluation in human clinical trials.