Scientists from Novosibirsk have developed the gene therapy medicinal product for cancer treatment

The group of scientists from Novosibirsk has created a novel antitumoral medicinal product "AntionkoRAS-M" which consists of plasmid DNA with a therapeutic effect. According to preliminary estimates this medical product will cost 300 times lower priced than foreign gene therapy medicinal products because the DNA' s carrying to blastema is provided by low priced and easy to produce Nonviral agent.

"AntionkoRAS-M" has been developed under the direction of academician Yevgeny Sverdlov on the basis of three RAS (the Russian Academy of Science) institutes: molecular genetics, bioorganic chemistry and gene biology. The medicinal product's mechanism is that it is plasmid DNA which consists of gene-killer of HSVtk and gene of cytokine GM-CSF. DNA is put into a specially developed polycationic shell to be carried to blastema. When this medicinal product gets to blastema, a gene product HSVtk transform the atoxic prodrug which has been injected IV, into toxin that kills cancer cellules. Whereas the gene GM-CSF product synthesizing in extracellular space of blaster promotes attraction of cellules of immune system and their activation. As a result the antitumoral immune response develops, - co-author of the project Irina Alekseenkosaid.

According to her this medicinal product is for the treatment of  head and neck cancer, cervical cancer and rectal cancer. Thus it is indicated for 70% of patients that have been diagnosticated to have head and neck cancer (malignant tumor of epipharynx, oropharynx, labia, salivary glands,
mouth and nose cavity). Every year such kind of cancer is diagnosticated 48 thousand of people in Russia, more than a third part of which die in the first year of their decease.

This development has already passed the pre-clinical trials on the basis of Moscow Scientific and Research Oncological Institute named after P.A. Gertsen. It is registered that animals that get this medicinal product have the increasing of lifetime to 20-86%, blaster growth inhibition to 75-83%, metastasis inhibition to 80-85% depending on the kind of blaster.

Adapted from "Pharmaceutical reporter"