Highlights
- Lead compounds are dimeric mimetics of the natural regulator of cell death, Smac
- The superior performance conferred by the dimeric form of Smac mimetics is proprietary to the Company
Description
SMAC was formed in October 2013 as a spin-out from Joyant Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SMAC’s research program is focused on an anti-cancer agent discovered by the founders of Joyant, Drs. Xiaodong Wang and Patrick Harran, that re-establishes the apoptotic pathway in cancer cells thus allowing them to die via programmed cell death. The current lead compound is a peptidomimetic of the naturally occurring protein, Smac (Second Mitochondrial Activator of Caspases). This small molecule compound functions to overcome the activity of IAPs (inhibitor of apoptosis protein) a group of proteins that prevents the execution of apoptosis in these cancer cells.