Aeterna Zentaris Presents Encouraging Preclinical Data for Disorazol Z (AEZS-137) at AACR-NCI-EORTC Conference

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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\nQUÉBEC CITY, Nov. 16, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Aeterna Zentaris Inc.\n (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZ), (\"the Company\") today announced that it\n presented a poster yesterday on encouraging preclinical data for its\n cytotoxic compound, disorazol Z (AEZS-137). The poster showed that\n disorazol Z (AEZS-137) possesses outstanding cytotoxicity in a highly\n diverse panel of 60 different tumor cell lines, and also underlined the\n identification of important aspects of this novel natural compound's\n mechanism of action. The poster was presented by Babette Aicher, Ph.D.,\n Director, Preclinical Development at Aeterna Zentaris, during the\n AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer\n Therapeutics which is being held at the Moscone Center West, in San\n Francisco.\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract C214: \n\n\n\"Disorazol Z - A highly cytotoxic natural compound with antitumor\n properties\",\nB. Aicher, K. Hirschfelder, R. Jansen, H. Irschik, P. Schmidt,  \nJ. Engel, E. Guenther, R. Mueller, M. Teifel\n\n\nConclusions  \n\n\nDisorazol Z (AEZS-137) has been identified as a tubulin binding agent\n with highly potent antitumor properties. Cell cycle analysis revealed\n that disorazol Z (AEZS-137) arrested cells in the G2/M phase and\n subsequently induced apoptosis with remarkable potency, as shown by\n subnanomolar EC50 values.\n\n\nJuergen Engel, Ph.D, President and CEO of Aeterna Zentaris stated, \"We\n are very excited with the data presented at the conference on disorazol\n Z (AEZS-137), a compound which is part of our development program\n looking to expand the AEZS-108 technology platform. Currently,\n experiments are under way to identify the tubulin binding site for\n disorazol Z (AEZS-137). Additional ongoing studies focus on further\n evaluation of the mechanisms of action of this novel highly potent\n agent. Finally, we aim at evaluating the utility of disorazol Z\n (AEZS-137) as a cytotoxic component in a drug-targeting approach\n utilizing G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) ligands as the targeting\n moieties for the treatment of GPCR over-expressing cancers such as\n prostate cancer.\"\n\n\nThe project is being funded by a US$1.5 million grant from the German\n Ministry of Education and Research. It is being conducted in\n collaboration with Morphisto GmbH and the Helmho...

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