SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPH), the world leader in the development of a new class of small molecule compounds based on endogenous steroid hormones, today announced new preclinical data with its drug candidate HE3235 for the treatment of cancer.
Data reported this week in an oral presentation at the 4th International Conference on Tumor Progression & Therapeutic Resistance, held October 4-5, 2007 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, demonstrated that HE3235 significantly inhibited tumor growth in a preclinical model of hormone-independent prostate cancer utilizing human tumor cells. Hormone independent tumors are associated with late-stage prostate cancer, a condition for which there currently is no effective treatment. Additionally, mechanism of action data were presented showing that HE3235 lowers the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2 and induces apoptosis (cell death) in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, the induction of apoptosis appears to be independent of endogenous hormones that may induce tumor cell proliferation. These data suggest that the activity of HE3235 is due, at least in part, to its ability to kill tumor cells. The findings reported this week suggest that if successfully developed, HE3235 may offer benefit in late-stage prostate cancer, the second leading cause of death in men in the United States today.
