Santaris/Enzon's Survivin blocker enters clinical testing

USA-based Santaris Pharma says that its fourth Locked Nucleic Acid-based drug has entered clinical testing. In the USA, several patients with  cancer have now been treated with its Survivin inhibitor, which is being  jointly developed with the USA's Enzon Pharmaceuticals.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently accepted Enzon's  Investigational New Drug application for the use of the LNA-based  inhibitor of Survivin, which is a key protein that controls cancer  growth by playing a significant role in cell division, as well as  inhibiting the programming that controls cell death.

The Survivin inhibitor was developed using the LNA technology. In  preclinical animal studies, EZN-3042 inhibited Survivin expression and  tumor growth. It also potentiated the antitumor activity of taxol, an  approved cancer therapeutic, Santaris noted.