New Technology Activates Cancer-Fighting Genes and Suppresses Tumor Growth

A biotech company has released data that show its epigenetic technology effectively inhibits tumor growth and was successful in activating key anticancer genes--a significant achievement in epigenetics research and cancer therapeutics.

The results of the preclinical research were presented by Progen Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Toowong, Queensland, Australia) collaborators at the 100th annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference, held in April 2009 in Denver, CO, USA. Progen CEO Justus Homburg reported that the latest findings reinforced Progen's position at the forefront of anticancer drug research. "Epigenetics represents an exciting new target for cancer therapeutics and is a focus of this AACR meeting. We are very proud to have achieved such promising results in this exciting area of research," he said.

Epigenetics technology represents one of the latest breakthroughs in cancer drug development, which focuses on expression or silencing of specific genes. Progen and its collaborators have focused their research on an enzyme known as lysine-specific demethylase 1(LSD1), which contributes to the silencing of significant tumor-suppressor genes. They have successfully developed PG11144 that inhibits LSD1 and reactivates (expresses) the silenced genes that are inactivated in cancer.

Progen's chief scientific officer, Dr. Laurence Marton, reported that the study's findings revealed that the product effectively inhibited tumor growth in vitro and also in living organisms. "We believe the use of LSD1 inhibitors represents a highly promising and novel approach to cancer prevention and therapy, and may be suitable for multiple indications."

In addition to its epigenetics findings, Progen also presented an update on its cell proliferation technology at the AACR Conference. Progen's lead cell proliferation product, PG11047, targets hyperproliferating cells specifically to suppress tumor growth, and is currently undergoing two phase I clinical trials. The preclinical research presented at the conference demonstrated that the product provides a significant additive anticancer effect when combined with Cisplatin and Avastin and compared with either drug alone in lung cancer and prostate cancer models, respectively.

Progen is currently progressing PG11047 through early clinical development in parallel to additional translational studies to determine the most promising indications. Mr. Homburg reported that to date, 44 patients had been treated in the monotherapy PG11047 phase I trial, and over 130 patients in combination studies with approved anticancer therapies. The dosing regime in the monotherapy trial has been escalated far beyond Progen's original expectations. "While we expect to find the maximum dose soon, we already have supporting data that the drug will have a large therapeutic window when given as a monotherapy," he said.

Mr. Homburg noted that the latest findings in Progen's epigenetics and cell proliferation technologies represented another important milestone in the development of its anticancer product range. "These latest findings prove we have the technology, the expertise, and the resources to progress our strong product pipeline. We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to present these findings on the world stage, among leaders of the international scientific community."

Progen Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, and markets small molecule pharmaceuticals primarily for the treatment of cancer. The company targets the multiple mechanisms of cancer across its three technology platforms of angiogenesis, epigenetics, and cell proliferation.

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