Note the authors and keywords. Do we have an INGN connection of substance here? That is, any chance INGN has access to the IP?
"The invention provides for a method for introducing into the host cell a gene transfer vector comprising an Mda-7 promoter nucleotide sequence."
The MDA-7 protein was discovered at the laboratory of Dr. Paul B. Fisher at Columbia Univ., here is a list of some articles concerning the subject since 1995:
In December 1995, Jiang H,et al (Including Paul B, Fisher.<g>)from Columbia Univ.,identified a novel melanoma differentiation associated gene, mda-7, modulated during human melanoma differentiation, growth and progression and confirmed that mda-7 has antiproliferative properties in human melanoma cells, could contribute to terminal cell differentiation and could also function as a negative regulator of melanoma progression.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In August 1996,Jiang H,et al (Including Paul B.Fisher.<g>) from Columbia Univ.,found that forced expression of MDA7 inhibited growth of diverse human tumor cells.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In November 1998,Su ZZ, et al (Including Paul B. Fisher.<g>)from Columbia Univ.,showed that mda-7 selectively induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells and inhibits tumor growth in nude mice.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In October 2001,Huang EY et al (Including Paul B. Fisher.<g>)from Columbia Univ., showed that human MDA7 encompasses 7 exons, and by radiation hybrid mapping assigned the mda-7 gene to human chromosome 1q, at 1q 32.2 to 1q41, an area containing a cluster of genes associated with the IL-10 family of cytokines and concluded that Mda-7 represents a differentiation, growth and apoptosis associated gene with potential utility for the gene-based therapy of diverse human cancers.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
From Introgen: "INGN 241 uses Introgen's proprietary adenovector technology to deliver the gene encoding the MDA-7 protein. 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 the gene from the Corixa Corporation."
Bernard |
