Gemin X compound found effective in preclinical studies

Results of a preclinical study evaluating GX15-070 both as a monotherapy and in combination with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (marketed by biopharmaceutical company Millennium as Velcade) have shown the drug to have potential for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a type of blood cancer.

The data demonstrates that GX15-070 induced cell death (apoptosis) and exhibited synergistic effects with bortezomib. Furthermore, when used on its own, nine out of 12 MCL patient samples showed strong sensitivity to GX15-070. No cytotoxic affects were observed in non-cancerous cell lines, suggesting that GX15-070 may represent an attractive new investigational therapeutic option for the treatment of MCL.

GX15-070 is designed to restore apoptosis, the natural process of cell death that is often inhibited in cancer cells. Over-expression of the Bcl-2 protein family inhibits apoptosis and has been observed in a wide range of cancers, including those of the lymph, breast, lung, prostate and colon.

The potential drug candidate is specifically designed to inhibit all of the anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family, thus inducing apoptosis in cancer cells without damaging normal cells, and is the first such small molecule, pan-inhibitor of Bcl-2 proteins tested in clinical trials.

“We are currently evaluating GX15-070 in phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies, and we look forward to additional clinical data later this year,” said Dan Giampuzzi, president and CEO of Gemin.