Introgen gains rights to therapies combining EGFr inhibitors

Texas, USA-based Introgen Therapeutics says that it has obtained a worldwide, exclusive license to a family of patent applications directed to combination therapy using Advexin with inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptors, such as Erbitux (cetuximab), Vectibix (panitumumab), Tarceva (erlotinib) and Iressa (gefitinib). The family of patents was licensed to Introgen from the University of Texas System MD Anderson Cancer Center.

This technology is based on the discovery by scientists at MD Anderson Cancer Center that p53 and mda7 therapies can work synergistically with inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptors to arrest tumor growth. Preclinical studies have shown that this "double barrel" therapeutic approach results in an unexpectedly greater level of cancer cell death than when either therapy is used alone, the company noted.

Robert Sobol, Introgen's senior vice president of medical and scientific affairs, said that "combining Advexin with EGFr inhibitors such as Erbitux, Vectibix or other such drugs represent a logical extension of our knowledge of cancer biology leading to improved cancer therapies. These agents are targeted to fundamental molecular defects that can inhibit tumors. Our clinical studies have shown enhanced clinical activity when Advexin is administered in combination with traditional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy."