Business
New data may help guide the clinical development of Biomira's PX-478 and PX-866
New data may help guide the clinical development of Biomira's PX-478 and PX-866.
About this update from Skrr Exploration, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nEDMONTON, Oct. 24 /CNW/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOM) (TSX: BRA)\nannounced today that preclinical data for its targeted anti-cancer drug\ncandidates PX-478 and PX-866 were presented in a poster session yesterday at\nthe AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer\nTherapeutics, which is being held October 22-26 in San Francisco. The data may\nhelp to guide future clinical studies of these innovative small molecule\ncompounds. A Phase 1 trial of PX-478 in patients with advanced metastatic\ncancers is in progress. Biomira expects to file an Investigational New Drug\napplication for PX-866 early in 2008.\n\n\nThe PX-478 data (Abstract No.284) provide insight into how and under what\nconditions the compound inhibits the activity of its target, the transcription\nfactor hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1 alpha). PX-478 works by a unique\nmechanism, decreasing both HIF-1 alpha gene expression and protein synthesis.\nThis leads to a significant reduction in the amount and activity of HIF-1\nalpha in the tumor. The results show that PX-478 is highly specific for HIF-1\nalpha and does not inhibit the levels of any of the other proteins tested.\nAdditionally, this inhibitory effect is independent of the tumor suppressor\ngenes VHL and p53, genes that may significantly impact how cancer cells\nrespond to a variety of therapeutic interventions.\n\n\n"Hypoxia is a feature of many solid tumors and HIF-1 alpha is the tumor's\nprimary survival response to this stress," said Dr. Garth Powis, Director,\nCenter for Targeted Therapy, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, and\nsenior author of the abstract. "Inhibiting both transcription and translation\nis a double hit that dramatically decreases the activity of HIF-1 alpha, which\nregulates numerous pro-cancer pathways. That this reduction in HIF-1a activity\noccurs in cells regardless of oxygenation, p53 and VHL status suggests that\nPX-478 may have clinical activity in diverse cancers. The elucidation of the\nmechanisms by which PX-478 inhibits HIF-1 alpha confirms the compound's\nspecificity and may aid the direction of the clinical program with respect to\nidentifying specific cancer indications and potential combination regimens for\nthis promising agent."\n\n\nA second poster reported data from preclinical studies of PX-866, a...