Isis Begins Trials Of Anticancer Oligo

Isis Pharmaceuticals has started Phase I clinical trials of a new antisense compound, ISIS 5132/CGP69846A, which acts as a selective inhibitor of C-raf kinase gene expression. The raf kinase gene family is responsible for signal transduction processes that regulate cell proliferation and is thought to play an important role in the development of some solid tumors.

Activated raf kinase has been detected in small cell lung carcinoma, and breast carcinoma - 60% of all lung carcinoma cells express unusually high levels of the C-raf kinase protein. ISIS 5132 is an antisense oligonucleotide which inhibits C-raf kinase without affecting other members of the same multigene family.

This is the second anticancer oligo from Isis' collaboration with Ciba to enter the clinic, after ISIS 3521.