MK-2206 is a drug candidate being investigated to help treat cancer. Its chemical formula is C25H21N5O.[1] It acts as an allostericAKT inhibitor.[2]
It is a highly selective inhibitor of pan-Akt, namely, of all three Akt isoforms Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3.[1]
It is intended to be used with other cancer therapies that advanced tumours may become resistant to.[3]
Clinical trials
2011: A phase 1 clinical trial of MK-2206 alone has reported it was well tolerated.[4] 2014: A phase 1 clinical trial of MK-2206 with a variety of other agents in 72 patients with advanced cancer reported acceptable side-effects.[3] 2016: MK-2206 is one of the treatments in the I-SPY2Adaptive clinical trial for breast cancer that had been selected for later stage trials.[5] As of August 2017[update] 31 phase II clinical trials are registered, many completed.[6] e.g. in colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and many others.
MK-2206 and COVID-19
Data shown in a study preprint suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection decreases cellular autophagy and that MK-2206, which induces autophagy, reduced virus replication by up to 88% in vitro. The study's authors propose that MK-2206 should be tested in clinical trials as a potential treatment for COVID-19.[7]
^Yap TA, Yan L, Patnaik A, Fearen I, Olmos D, Papadopoulos K, et al. (December 2011). "First-in-man clinical trial of the oral pan-AKT inhibitor MK-2206 in patients with advanced solid tumors". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 29 (35): 4688–4695. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.35.5263. PMID22025163.