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Biotech / Medical : Vion (formerly Oncorx) interesting play on Gene Therapy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (187)	4/19/2000 12:29:00 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 370

NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: VION) and Yale University today announced that they have been granted an additional patent on a series of related compounds based upon their unique alkylating agent prodrug technology for the potential treatment of cancer. U.S. Patent 6040338, entitled "N,N-Bis (Sulfonyl) Hydrazines Useful as Antineoplastic Agents," covers the use of the pharmaceutical composition and the method of treating tumor cells with these formulations. This brings the total number of U.S. patents covering the company's alkylkating agent prodrug technology to ten. Alkylating agents are widely used for the treatment of cancer and work by damaging the cell's DNA, preventing replication of the tumor cells and causing their death. N,N bis-sulfonyl hydrazines are potent alkylating agents with several unique features compared to existing agents, including more specific induction of a type of DNA damage that is associated with tumor cell kill and less toxicity to normal tissues. The N,N bis-sulfonyl hydrazines also inhibit a cellular enzyme that repairs the DNA damage, thus blocking a major mechanism of drug resistance by tumor cells. By converting the N,N bis-sulfonyl hydrazines to a prodrug form, the circulation time of the agent is increased, providing greater exposure of the tumor to the drug. Furthermore, tumors are better-equipped than normal tissue to convert the non-toxic prodrug back to its active form, resulting in enhanced cytotoxic effects against the tumor compared to normal tissue. This class of compounds has demonstrated broad antitumor activity against a variety of experimental tumor models including some with resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. The lead compound in this class is VNP40101M, which demonstrated broad antitumor activity against leukemia, melanoma, lung and colon carcinomas in animal models, as well as activity against tumor cells resistant to the standard alkylating agents cyclophosphamide, BCNU and melphalan. Preclinical data confirming the potential utility of VNP40101M were recently presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Alan Kessman, president and CEO of Vion, commented, "The receipt of this patent serves to broaden and strengthen the company's intellectual property, expanding upon Vion's growing patent portfolio. As part of Vion's ongoing research collaboration with Yale University, the company is evaluating several lead candidates from the SHP class of agents. We are particularly impressed by the properties of VNP40101M and are conducting preliminary studies to accelerate its development with the prospect of beginning clinical development this year." Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of cancer treatment technologies. Vion's product portfolio consists of TAPET(R), a drug delivery platform, and three cancer therapeutics (Promycin(R), Triapine(R) and Sulfonyl Hydrazine Prodrugs). TAPET has been shown in preclinical models to effectively deliver anticancer agents while having a minimal toxic effect on healthy normal tissues. TAPET uses genetically altered strains of Salmonella as a bacterial vector, or vehicle, for delivering cancer-fighting drugs preferentially to solid tumors. Promycin, which attacks oxygen deficient cancer cells, is currently being evaluated with radiation in a multicenter Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Triapine, which is designed to prevent the replication of tumor cells by blocking a critical step in the synthesis of DNA, is currently being evaluated for its safety in a Phase I clinical trial. Sulfonyl Hydrazine Prodrugs, compounds that are designed to be converted to unique potent, alkylating agents, are currently being evaluated in preclinical studies.