Lorus Announces Publication Of A Novel Analytical Method Confirming The Pharmacological Action Of Its Anticancer Drug LOR-2040

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 30 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:LOR)("Lorus"), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, today announced a publication from investigators at the Ohio State University (OSU). The article entitled "A LC-MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Intracellular Nucleoside Triphosphate Levels" was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Pharmaceutical Research in the June issue (Vol. 26(6):1504-15).

In the article data was presented from studies using a novel analytical method. The results confirm pharmacological activity of LOR-2040, in five leukemia cell lines and in bone marrow samples of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with LOR-2040 in a Phase II clinical trial. A significant decrease in intracellular deoxynucleoside triphosphate levels required for DNA synthesis in tumor cells treated with LOR-2040 confirmed the target inhibition effect of LOR-2040.

These studies were conducted by a clinical research team involved in the clinical trial of LOR-2040 and high dose cytarabine for treatment of refractory and relapsed AML, under the overall direction of Dr. Guido Marcucci and Dr. Kenneth Chan at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"This method developed and validated by the OSU investigators has paved a novel way to monitor activity of LOR-2040 and could serve as a valuable tool to allow us to design improved treatment strategies," said Dr. Aiping Young, Lorus' President and CEO. "Continued collaboration with the OSU investigators is fostering unprecedented levels of understanding as to how LOR-2040 works and how this drug should be most effectively targeted to benefit cancer patients."

About LOR-2040

LOR-2040 is an RNA-targeted drug that specifically targets the R2 component of ribonucleotide reductase, which is required for DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Through downregulation of R2, LOR-2040 has demonstrated strong antitumor and antimetastatic activity in a variety of tumor types in both in vitro and in vivo models and is under study in a multiple Phase I/II clinical program, including an advanced Phase II clinical trial with LOR-2040 and high dose Ara-C (HiDAC) in refractory and relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The R2 target has been described as a malignant determinant that is elevated in a wide range of tumor types, which can cooperate with a variety of cellular cancer causing genes known as oncogenes to enhance tumor growth and metastatic potential.

Source
Lorus Therapeutics Inc.