Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, a Seattle biotech startup backed by Frazier Healthcare Ventures, said today it has started its first test in humans of its lead drug candidate for patients with blood cancers. The treatment, a small-molecule compound called CAL-101, is designed to block the PI3 kinase, which controls cell growth and survival signals. The trial will enroll 60 patients, measuring safety at a range of doses, according to a description at clinicaltrials.gov.
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
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