Actavalon Inc. Information

Actavalon is an oncology-focused company targeting two fundamental cancer pathways - the p53 tumor suppressor pathway and the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) pathway. Actavalon's small molecules are capable of stabilizing the active conformation of mutant p53 proteins, thereby restoring tumor suppression activity and preventing oncogenic gain-of-function activities. This approach is applicable to many types of cancers irrespective of their tissue origin and driver mutations. Second, Actavalon's AhR program has generated a series of highly potent small molecule selective Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Modulators with either agonist, partial agonist or antagonist activities. These compounds block the kynurenine-AhR pathway used by tumor cells to inhibit the host immune response to cancer. Thus, small molecules capable of competing with kynurenine for binding to AhR and modulating its activity represent a novel small molecule approach for anti-PD-1 therapy.