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news.Pro-Pharmaceuticals has signed a collaboration agreement with BioCancell Therapeutics, to target destruction of H19 genes in cancer cells by delivering small interfering Ribonucleic Acid through intravenous administration of Pro-Pharmaceuticals's Davanat and BioCancell's BC-819 patient-oriented, targeted therapy.
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H19 genes are expressed post-natally only in cancerous cells and are believed to enable tumor cells to survive and proliferate. Small interfering Ribonucleic Acid (siRNA) are a class of 20-25 nucleotide-long double-stranded RNA molecules that are involved in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway where the siRNA interferes with the expression of a specific gene.
Pro-Pharmaceuticals’s polysaccharide polymer Davanat targets galectin receptors on cancer cells and is in Phase II trials for colorectal and biliary cancers. The patient’s eligibility for treatment is determined by analyzing the patient’s tumor for the expression of the specific target genes. The diagnosis of the expression of the target genes is made possible through BioCancell’s proprietary diagnostic technology that enables detection of even a single malignant cell.
Eliezer Zomer, executive vice president of manufacturing and product development at Pro-Pharmaceuticals, said: “The collaboration with BioCancell will enable us to test combination therapies to transfect genes that enable cancer to survive and grow. We plan to do in-vivo and in-vitro testing of two of BioCancell’s compounds to optimize them with our library of polysaccharides to destroy cancer cells.”