Isis Pharmaceuticals preclinical data

ISIP published animal data showing increased survival in mice with both subcutaneous and intracranial grafts of a human glioblastoma tumor line. The antisense agent targets protein kinase C alpha, which is expressed at high levels by the tumor. The kinase is a signal enzyme involved in proliferation and immune responses.

As reported in Molecular Pharmacology, immunosuppressed (nude) mice were protected from xenografts of the human glioblastoma U-87. Tumor growth was inhibited in mice given both 2 and 20 mg/kg doses for 21 days (p<0.05 and 0.001, respectively). Median survival time was doubled in mice with the intracranial implants (40 percent long-term survivors on day 82, p<0.001). No toxicities were apparent with either 21 or 80 days of daily intraperitoneal injection of the antisense agent. ...