MK-4827(Niraparib) is a selective inhibitor of PARP1/PARP2 with IC50 of 3.8 nM/2.1 nM; with great activity in cancer cells with mutant BRCA-1 and BRCA-2; >330-fold selective against PARP3, V-PARP and Tank1.

MK-4827 displays excellent PARP 1 and 2 inhibition with IC(50) = 3.8 and 2.1 nM, respectively, and in a whole cell assay, it inhibits PARP activity with EC(50) = 4 nM and inhibits proliferation of cancer cells with mutant BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 with CC(50) in the 10-100 nM range.

MK-4827 is well tolerated in vivo and demonstrates efficacy as a single agent in a xenograft model of BRCA-1 deficient cancer [1]. In addition, MK-4827 strongly enhances the effect of radiation on a variety of human tumor xenografts, both p53 wild type and p53 mutant. The enhancement of radiation response is observed in clinically relevant radiation-dose fractionation schedules. The therapeutic window during which time MK-4827 interacts with radiation lasts for several hours. These biological attributes make translation of this therapeutic combination treatment feasible for translation to the treatment of a variety of human cancers.