name from an attendant of the Greek goddess Artemis, who represented the concept of trajectory in the sport of archery.

It is an exciting time to develop cancer drugs. Diagnostic methods are yielding strong clues about which cancer features are actionable, “driver mutations,” in contrast to those merely along for the ride as “passenger mutations.” In the last five years, these insights have transformed the standard of care in melanoma, lung cancer and other cancers.

Picking a target is just the first step in building a cancer drug. Good chemists build good drugs. The physical properties of a compound have much to do with its ultimate success or failure. Is it stable? Is it soluble? Is it absorbed? Does it reach its target? Does it engage the target? Does it cause toxicity elsewhere in the body before it achieves maximum efficacy in the cancer? In our opinion, drugs that achieve excellent exposure in the body and are highly specific for their intended targets have the highest chances of success.

Once an attractive target is selected and a drug with best-in-class properties is constructed, setting up the right clinical development plan is of utmost importance. Our goal is to generate a clinical path that reflects the underlying scientific hypothesis that made the drug interesting in the first place. This often means developing the drug in a population of patients whose tumors possess a specific genetic vulnerability targeted by the drug.

Loxo Oncology was built around a team of full-time professionals and engaged scientific advisors who are aligned in choosing the most actionable targets, and pursuing them through disciplined clinical trial approaches. Our license and collaboration agreement with Array Biopharma and our experienced team allows us to construct drugs with best-in-class properties from the ground up.