This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Massachusetts biopharmaceutical firm wants your skunk cabbage — or corn lily, or cow cabbage — to help develop new cancer drugs.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said it has worked with the U.S. Forest Service since 2007 to find the plant, often considered a "nuisance" weed, and has purchased it from landowners in several states. It claims to have invested more than $1 million in the state of Utah by providing jobs and restoring land where the plant has been harvested.
Now it is looking for new sources, and asks people who have significant sources of corn lily on their land to call 617-453-1015 or send an email to veratrum@infi.com.
The plant contains a key ingredient for a possible treatment, IPI-926, which is designed to target difficult-to-treat cancers, such as pancreatic cancer and chondrosarcoma, the company said.
"As cancer impacts all of us either directly or indirectly, it has been gratifying to work with Infinity on this project," said Pam Brown, forest supervisor at Utah's Manti-La Sal National Forest, in a statement released by the company. "We have appreciated the company's commitment to the community and the surrounding environment, including its efforts to restore the land after harvest."
Veratrum californicum grows on hills and in alpine meadows across the western United States — primarily in Utah, Idaho and Oregon — and typically favors areas that are wet in the spring and 5,000 to 10,000 feet in altitude, the company said.
"As we move forward with further study and clinical development of IPI-926, we hope to work with additional landowners in these regions to harvest the plant, which could help patients for years to come," said Joe McPherson, Infinity's vice president of facilities and operations.
According to the company:
• IPI-926 belongs to a class of drugs known as Hedgehog pathway inhibitors. In healthy adults, the Hedgehog pathway is inactive in most cells. In people with certain cancers, the Hedgehog pathway in cells is turned on and helps promote cancer growth and survival. IPI-926 is designed to block the function of a key protein in the Hedgehog pathway and is being tested in clinical trials.