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ProNAi Announces Preclinical Success for PNT2258 Therapeutic – Curative Events in Xenograft Mice for Difficult-to-Treat Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma |
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18 Apr 2007 |
Pioneer in DNAi(R)-based drug development demonstrates single-agent and combination therapy efficacy and drug-dose response in animal studies for lead nucleic-acid-based oncology candidate
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA | Apr 17, 2007 | ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of nucleic-acid drugs based on DNA interference (DNAi(R)), today announced that its lead oncology therapeutic candidate, PNT2258, has successfully demonstrated preclinical in vivo efficacy in xenograft mice for a number of human cancers – including curative events for difficult-to-treat Burkitt’s Lymphoma.
Dr. Richard D. Gill, President and CEO of ProNAi, said, “Team ProNAi is quite pleased with our early preclinical results for PNT2258. Particularly encouraging is the fact that PNT2258 has shown promising single agent efficacy and combination therapy efficacy and drug-dose response for multiple cancer types including both hematological and solid tumors.”
He added, “However, a very exciting development was our discovery that PNT2258, in combination with Rituximab, demonstrated curative events in treating Daudi xenografts of human Burkitt’s Lymphoma in mice. The antitumor effect was rapid and durable. We had 70% complete remissions in two groups of animals dosed with PNT2258 and Rituximab.”
In developing its DNAi(R)-based therapy, ProNAi reports that its successful establishment of in vivo efficacy for formulated PNT2258 included:
Single agent efficacy for DLCL2 Xenografts of Human Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Combination therapy efficacy with Docetaxel for Human Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer Xenograft
Combination therapy with Rituximab in Daudi Xenografts of Human Burkitt’s Lymphoma
ProNAi’s preclinical research will proceed in 2007. Planned studies include IND-enabling toxicology and ADME studies. ProNAi will file the IND for PNT2258 later this year.
About DNAi(R)
DNAi(R) (DNA interference) is a novel approach to targeting genomic DNA using sequence-specific therapeutic oligonucleotides, employing single strands of DNA to target and treat non-transcribed regions of genomes responsible for complex genetic diseases, such as cancer.
By acting at the DNA level, where only one or two copies of the gene exist per cell, treatment can be targeted more efficiently by DNAi(R) drugs. With fewer targets, the activity of a DNAi(R) drug is expected to last longer at lower doses, and reduce some of the toxicity issues prevalent with other marketed therapies. Additionally, DNA-related therapies are potentially more cost effective to produce.
About ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.
ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical drug development company pioneering a new class of nucleic-acid drugs based on DNA interference (DNAi(R)), which employs single strands of DNA to target and treat non-transcribed regions of genomes responsible for complex genetic diseases. ProNAi is currently developing multiple DNAi(R)-based drug candidates with the potential to treat multiple cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate, breast, and colon cancers. The company’s lead drug candidate, PNT2258, which has demonstrated in vivo efficacy in a variety of human tumor xenograft models, is currently in preclinical development. ProNAi is also exploring the potential of DNAi(R)-based therapies for indications such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and inflammatory disease.
SOURCE: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc. |
