Targeting a Convergence of Signaling Pathways that Drive the Growth and Spread of Cancer

In cancer, the rigorous translational machinery of the human body goes haywire, causing an overproduction of proteins that fuel the growth and spread of tumors, as well as enabling them to evade the immune system. Effector Therapeutics is developing a new class of cancer therapies called selective translation regulator inhibitors, or STRIs, that can inhibit the production of proteins that drive a cancer. We spoke to Steve Worland, president and CEO of Effector, about the company’s new class of therapies, how they target a central node where two major cancer signaling pathways converge, and how they pack the punch of a combination therapy in a single drug.