Antitumor and Anti-Angiogenic Effects of Introgen Therapeutics' INGN 241 Featured at International Conference
Posted on: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 15:01 CDT
CRETE, Greece, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. presented data from laboratory and animal studies of INGN 241, an investigational cancer therapy currently under evaluation in a Phase 2 trial in patients with metastatic melanoma. The data show that MDA7/IL-24, the active component of INGN 241, is produced in treated lung cancer cells and is also actively secreted by the treated cells. Both the internal and secreted forms of MDA7/IL-24 produced by INGN 241-treated lung cancer cells have potent effects inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. In addition, MDA7/IL24 was shown to inhibit tumor blood vessel formation, (angiogenesis), necessary for tumor cell growth. Introgen conducted the studies in collaboration with researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
"Currently approved anti-angiogenic therapy inhibits the activity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and has shown significant clinical benefit," said Dr. Sunil Chada, associate vice president for Clinical Research. "INGN 241 acts on multiple aspects of the angiogenic process, including blocking VEGF production, suggesting that it may complement existing therapies."
Dr. Rajagopal Ramesh, associate professor in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at M.D. Anderson, presented the data at the 8th International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Drug and Gene-Based Therapeutics in Crete, Greece.
In animal models of angiogenesis, implantation of INGN 241-treated lung cancer cells into mice decreased the formation of new blood vessels. In the studies presented yesterday, lung cancer cells were treated with INGN 241. The addition of MDA7/IL-24 protein secreted by these cells to untreated cells significantly inhibited their proliferation, demonstrating a "bystander" effect. Similar results were also observed for breast cancer cells indicating that INGN 241 has activity against a variety of clinically important tumor types.
The mda-7 gene was discovered by the laboratory of Dr. Paul B. Fisher, professor of clinical pathology at Columbia University. Introgen holds an exclusive worldwide license for all gene therapy applications from the Corixa Corporation.
Introgen holds a licensing agreement with M. D. Anderson to commercialize products based on licensed technologies, and has the option to license future technologies under sponsored research agreements. Dr. Ramesh is a paid consultant to Introgen and receives sponsored research funding. The University of Texas System Board of Regents owns stock in Introgen. These arrangements are managed in accordance with M. D. Anderson's conflict of interest policies.
Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted molecular therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Introgen is developing molecular therapeutics, immunotherapies, vaccines and nano-particle tumor suppressor therapies to treat a wide range of cancers using non-integrating tumor suppressors, cytokines and genes. Introgen maintains integrated research, development, manufacturing, clinical and regulatory departments and operates multiple manufacturing facilities including a commercial scale cGMP manufacturing facility.
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical may be "forward-looking" statements, including those relating to Introgen's future success with its clinical development program for treatment of cancer or other diseases and INGN 241 for the treatment of lung and other cancers. The actual results may differ from those described in this release due to risks and uncertainties that exist in Introgen's operations and business environment, including Introgen's stage of product development and the limited experience in the development of gene-based drugs in general, dependence upon proprietary technology and the current competitive environment, history of operating losses and accumulated deficits, reliance on collaborative relationships, and uncertainties related to clinical trials, the safety and efficacy of Introgen's product candidates, the ability to obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals, Introgen's patent protection and market acceptance, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Introgen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Introgen undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements that reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof.
Editor's Note: For more information on Introgen Therapeutics, or for a menu of archived press releases, please visit Introgen's Website at: http://www.introgen.com/ .
Contact: Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. C. Channing Burke (512) 708 9310 Ext. 322 Email: c.burke@introgen.com
Introgen Therapeutics, Inc.
CONTACT: C. Channing Burke of Introgen Therapeutics, Inc.,+1-512-708-9310 ext. 322, or c.burke@introgen.com
Web site: http://www.introgen.com/
Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall
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