Selvita secures funding for early stage trial in acute myeloid leukemia

Poland-based Selvita (PL: SLV) will receive up to $3.25 million funding over four years from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to fund development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) candidate SEL120.

SEL120 is a small molecule inhibitor of CDK8, a gene which is implicated in tumor growth, including colorectal tumors. Selvita has initiated a Phase I study to support a future Investigational New Drug filing in the USA.

The company says that, in preclinical studies, the candidate has shown efficacy in treating AML cells in the test tube and in mouse models, and has passed a series of toxicity studies in mice and monkeys.