AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. firm Introgen said Wednesday that its investigational drug INGN 241 used in combination with Genentech's Avastin zaps tumors in animals.
The company said a preclinical study of the drug duo showed complete tumor regression in study animals with lung cancer, compared with use of Avastin alone, which resulted in "only minor tumor regression and no animals were cured of their cancer."
"The outcome of this study is encouraging and for the first time we are able to show that lung tumors treated with a combination of INGN 241 plus Avastin produced complete inhibitory activity," said lead study investigator Rajagopal Ramesh.
The drug combination works by blocking angiogenesis, the process by which tumors grow the new blood vessels essential for their growth.
In the study -- conducted at the Houston-based University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center -- showed the tumors completely vanished within the first four weeks of treatment, with no additional growth seen after the therapy was stopped.
The animal study is published in this week's Molecular Therapy, the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy.
Introgen said it is testing INGN 241 in a phase 2 trial for advanced melanoma and in a phase 3 trial in combination with radiation for treating solid tumors.
