HIF-2⍺ INHIBITOR – CASDATIFAN

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2⍺) is a transcription factor that induces target genes responsible for the hypoxic stress response. Hypoxia enhances cancer cell resistance to immune cell attack by promoting immunosurveillance evasion, tumor cell proliferation, and angiogenesis.

In a hypoxic tumor microenvironment, HIF-2⍺ forms a heterodimer with HIF-1β that acts like a switch to up-regulate hundreds of genes responsible for tumor survival, growth, and spread.

Casdatifan (cas) is an investigational highly specific small molecule that binds HIF-2⍺, disabling binding to HIF-1β. By preventing HIF-2⍺ heterodimerization with HIF-1β, casdatifan is design to flip off the cancer cell growth switch and stop the translation of key oncogenic genes, resulting in cancer cell death.