Keith T. Flaherty to give talk at Protein Kinases meeting May 27-28, Boston

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Keith T. Flaherty, Director of Developmental Therapeutics at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cancer Center will give a,occur in a of BRAF inhibitors in the subpopulations bearing mutations in these oncogenes. Updated data from the phase I/II trial will be presented.

MONROVIA, CA – Keith T. Flaherty, Director of Developmental Therapeutics at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cancer Center to speak at GTCbio’s 5th Protein Kinases in Drug Discovery conference May 27-28, 2010 in Boston, MA.

Keith T. Flaherty will give a presentation on “BRAF: the First Mutated Cytoplasmic Signaling Molecule to be Successfully Targeted in Cancer”. BRAF targeted therapy provides a new paradigm for matching therapy to somatic genetic changes identified prior to the initiation of therapy. NRAS mutations are known to occur in an additional 20% of melanomas, but represent a unique therapeutic challenge. Additional genetic discoveries may provide a basis of combinations of targeted therapy, in an effort to extend the early success of BRAF inhibitors in the subpopulations bearing mutations in these oncogenes. Updated data from the phase I/II trial will be presented.

Dr. Flaherty received a Bachelor of Science from Yale University and medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty in the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and member of the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Abramson Cancer Center in 2002. In 2009, he moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center to lead the Developmental Therapeutics Program.

Dr. Flaherty is the principal investigator of numerous first-in-human clinical trials with novel targeted therapies, and is the principal investigator of two national, cooperative group trials: E2603, a phase III trial comparing sorafenib, carboplatin and paclitaxel to carboplatin and paclitaxel alone in patients with metastatic melanoma and E2804, a randomized phase II trial comparing combinations of anti-angiogenic agents in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Dr. Flaherty has led the clinical development of the first three Raf inhibitors, ultimately validating mutated BRAF as a therapeutic target in cancer. He is internationally known for expertise in clinical and translational research directed against signal transduction pathways in melanoma.

Dr. Flaherty currently maintains a clinical focus on melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, with an overall emphasis on developing novel therapies for these historically treatment-refractory malignancies.

Also presenting at the Protein Kinase conference are prestigious organizations including AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dana-Farber, Dartmouth, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Harvard, Roche, Merck, Pfizer, Tufts, UCSD, Wyeth and other leaders in the kinase industry.

The 5th Protein Kinases in Drug Discovery targets & inhibitors in inflammatory disorders. For conference features presentations on new technology for kinase target and inhibitor identification and screening, kinase selectivity, kinase drug design, kinase targets & inhibitors in oncology, kinase targets & inhibitors in CNS disorders, and kinase more information, visit www.gtcbio.com.