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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Lock-Up Expiration Hell Portfolio -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jibacoa who wrote (875)	12/11/2003 3:04:03 PM
From: Jibacoa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1005

Multiple Mechanisms of Action Make Introgen's INGN 241 a Promising Approach To Treating Cancer. SAN DIEGO, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN) and its collaborators at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center today presented preclinical data highlighting the broad and multi-functional potential of INGN 241 in the treatment of a variety of cancers. The mda-7/IL-24 gene is the active component of Introgen's novel cancer therapy, INGN 241 (also known as Ad-mda-7). The data were presented in two oral presentations at the 12th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer, which is being held in San Diego. Dr. Rajagopal Ramesh, assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, gave one of the presentations on INGN 241 (Ad-mda-7) titled "mda-7/IL-24 mediated killing of human ovarian cells involves the Fas/FasL signaling pathway." These studies demonstrated that human cancer cells were sensitive to the anti-tumor effects of INGN 241, whereas normal ovarian cells were not affected by Ad-mda-7. INGN 241 significantly inhibits the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells and induces apoptosis (programmed cell death). Additional studies mapped the molecular pathways that activate apoptosis in this setting. Results show that Fas Ligand (FasL) and its receptor, Fas, mediate apoptosis in response to MDA- 7/IL-24 expression in ovarian cancer cells. Although the Fas/FasL pathway has previously been identified as a key regulator of apoptosis, these data are the first to identify it as the pathway through which MDA-7/IL-24 induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. "Previous studies have demonstrated that MDA-7/IL-24 is a potent inducer of apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells, and these data now identify a novel target -- ovarian cancer. Furthermore, we have identified the molecular pathway through which this process occurs in ovarian cancer cells," said Dr. Sunil Chada, Introgen's director of research and development. "The multiple functions of MDA-7/IL-24 stimulate cancer cell death, activate the immune system to attack cancer cells and inhibit the proliferation and migration of cancer cells. There is a growing body of data suggesting that the most effective cancer therapies will attack malignant cells using multiple approaches. MDA-7/IL-24 has the potential to provide multiple anti-cancer activities in a single molecule, and we believe it is a promising approach to treating a variety of cancers." A second study titled "mda-7 gene transfer exploits multiple molecular pathways to combat cancer," was presented by Dr. Chada. This study highlights several key mechanisms by which mda-7/IL-24 gene expression fights cancer. These include stimulation of immune cells, induction of apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels). Structural analysis of the MDA-7 protein reveals that it is a novel member of the interleukin-10 (IL-10) family of cytokines and led to the classification of the mda-7 gene as IL-24. Additionally, functional studies indicate that the MDA-7/IL-24 protein has a unique combination of anti-cancer properties that make this novel cytokine particularly interesting as a cancer therapy. The mda-7 gene was discovered by the laboratory of Dr. Paul B. Fisher, professor of clinical pathology and the Michael and Stella Chernow Urological Cancer Research Scientist in the Departments of Neurological Surgery, Pathology and Urology at Columbia University. Introgen holds an exclusive worldwide license to the mda-7 gene. Introgen is a leader in the development and production of gene-based drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Introgen maintains integrated research, development, manufacturing, clinical and regulatory departments and operates a commercial-scale, CGMP manufacturing facility. Introgen holds a license agreement from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to commercialize products based on the p53 and 3p21.3 family of genes, and has the option to license future technologies under sponsored research agreements. The University of Texas System owns stock in Introgen. corporate-ir.net