AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. presented the results of preclinical studies highlighting the favorable safety profile of INGN 007. Data from the studies, which were conducted by researchers at Introgen and their collaborators at Saint Louis University and VirRx, Inc., were presented over the weekend at the 13th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer. Introgen is developing INGN 007 to treat cancer.
"New classes of oncolytic viruses, such as INGN 007, which are more potent than the older conditionally replicating oncolytic adenoviruses, have great potential in the treatment of cancer," said Lou Zumstein, Ph.D., Introgen's associate vice president, Research. "The ability to overexpress the ADP gene sets this technology apart from other existing oncolytic viruses and has been shown to provide a powerful anti-tumor effect. The data presented over the weekend indicate that INGN 007 has favorable safety and toxicity profiles in two different models of cancer. Such data are important milestones en route to future clinical testing."
The studies were conducted in animal models of cancer that mimic the immunology and tumor biology of human cancers while providing an environment in which oncolytic viruses can infect cancer cells and cause their destruction through replication. The effects of three different doses of INGN 007 were evaluated.
"In these studies, INGN 007 demonstrated a safety profile very similar to naturally occurring viruses that have benign effects in children and adults," said William S.M. Wold, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and founder and chief executive officer of VirRx. "These findings build on robust safety data from a variety of clinical studies that have evaluated related viral based cancer therapies and vaccines. These favorable safety and toxicity data, in combination with a robust data set demonstrating the efficacy of oncolytic viruses in the treatment of cancer, support the evaluation of this novel approach to cancer therapy in clinical trials."
About Introgen's Oncolytic Viruses
Introgen has licensed rights to a portfolio of oncolytic viruses and other related technologies from VirRx, Inc. This portfolio includes a series of replication competent adenovirus vectors that over-express an adenoviral gene (ADP gene), a gene that causes rapid destruction of cancer cells through the replication and release of new viral particles. This release kills the cell, and also yields a pool of new viral particles capable of infecting additional cells within the tumor.
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 007 in the treatment of cancer. 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., +1-512-708-9310ext. 322, or c.burke@introgen.com
Web site: http://www.introgen.com/