July 16, 2012 – Alectos today announced its support for NSERC funding for the group of Prof. B.M. Pinto at Simon Fraser University, Department of Chemistry, in a project titled “Molecular dynamics simulations of Ligand-Enzyme complexes for a novel target involved in cancer metabolism”.
The collaboration between Alectos Therapeutics and the Pinto group at SFU aims to use high-level computer algorithms to model and predict the binding mode of small-molecule inhibitors targeting an enzyme involved in tumour metabolism. This project will capitalize on the unique molecular modeling capabilities of the Pinto group at SFU to characterize the three-dimensional structure and energetics of inhibitor binding to more fully understand protein-inhibitor interactions on a molecular level. Using a collaborative approach, Alectos and the Pinto group will carry out computational modeling studies on a variety of enzyme inhibitors. The success of this project may lead to a better understanding of inhibitor binding, cellular metabolism, and ultimately a new treatment for cancer.