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ARIUS presents new findings showing therapeutic antibody inhibits human leukemic cancer stem cells
- Data on ARIUS' novel CD9 therapeutic antibody to be presented at AACR Special Conference on Can...
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n- Data on ARIUS' novel CD9 therapeutic antibody to be presented at AACR\n\n\nSpecial Conference on Cancer Stem Cells -\n\n\nTORONTO, Feb. 13 /CNW/ - ARIUS Research Inc., (TSX: ARI), a biotechnology\ncompany discovering and developing the next wave of antibody therapeutics,\ntoday announced that new information on the preclinical activity of its\nanti-CD9 cancer stem cell antibody will be presented at the AACR Special\nConference on Cancer Stem Cells entitled "The Role of Cancer Stem Cells in the\nInitiation and Propagation of Tumorigenesis," held on February 12th-15th in\nLos Angeles. The Company will disclose data demonstrating that its CD9\nantibody not only targets leukemia cancer stem cells, but also leads to a\ndramatic reduction in their capacity to self-renew or give rise to further\nleukemia. These findings were discovered in collaboration with John E. Dick,\nPhD, the Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology with the University Health\nNetwork in Toronto, Canada.\n\n\nThe poster presentation (Wednesday, February 13th 2008, from\n4:30-6:30 pm) will outline the activity of ARIUS' anti-CD9 antibody,\nAR40A746.2.3, against acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The long-term survival\nexpectation for patients with AML is poor due to disease relapse and\nresistance to chemotherapy. CD9 appears to be an important driver for leukemia\nand potentially other cancer stem cells, which often survive treatment,\ncontinue to multiply and go on to seed new tumors. Studies of patients with\ndifferent types of cancer have demonstrated that the presence of CD9 can be\nlinked to lower survival rates. AR40A746.2.3 has previously been found to\ncontrol tumor growth and improve survival in pre-clinical breast and\npancreatic cancer models.\n\n\n"Since some cancer stem cells have been shown to be highly resistant to\ntraditional cancer therapies and are believed to contribute to treatment\nresistance, the selectivity of ARIUS' anti-CD9 antibody for leukemic cancer\nstem cells represents an exciting opportunity in cancer therapy," said Dr.\nJohn E. Dick. "The ability to target leukemic cancer stem cells while\npotentially leaving normal stem cells intact may provide a more effective\nmeans for increasing survival and decreasing relapse in AML and possibly other\nforms of leukemia."\n\n\n"ARIUS is very pleased...