Krakow, Poland – 17 October 2017 – Researchers from Selvita, a biotechnology company focused on innovative medicines for oncology patients and drug discovery services, in collaboration with scientists from the McGill University, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, have jointly published a research paper validating MNK1/2 protein kinases as potential therapeutic targets in melanoma.

The article entitled “MNK1/2 inhibition limits oncogenicity and metastasis of KIT-mutant melanoma” was published on October 16, 2017 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, one of the most reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals published by the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).

In the reported research, scientists showed that the receptor tyrosine kinase c-Kit often displays aberrant constitutive activation, driving melanoma tumorigenesis, and treatment this patient cohort with current c-Kit inhibitors has been challenging. c-Kit however stimulates in melanoma cells stimulates oncogenic activity of MNK1/2 kinases. Researchers have found that specific dual MNK1/2 inhibitor SEL201 developed by Selvita, could be effective as a potential treatment strategy for patients positive for KIT mutations.