molecules of the month

BAY1161909 is one of two clinical candidates disclosed in a single paper from Bayer. The compounds have an interesting anti-cancer mechanism – rather than inhibiting cancer cell growth, they accelerate cancer cell cycle progression, leading to cell death due to a high degree of chromosomal misaggregation. 909 was discovered through an HTS and optimization campaign, while the second candidate was developed from a known starting point. Development on 909 appears to have been paused in favor of the second candidate.