“The filing of HIF-1alpha, our fourth IND submission in 2006, demonstrates our strong commitment to delivering on our promises and developing a differentiated cancer portfolio,” said Jeffrey Buchalter, CEO of Enzon.
The target HIF-1alpha functions as a key regulator of a large number of genes important in cancer biology, such as angiogenesis, cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell invasion. HIF-1alpha protein is too low in normal cells, but reaches high intracellular concentrations in a variety of cancers and is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. Drugs targeting HIF-1alpha therefore have the potential to target multiple cancer processes.
Enzon licensed the HIF-1alpha antagonist from Santaris in July 2006 along with the Survivin antagonist, and six additional proprietary RNA antagonist candidates, all directed against novel cancer targets selected by Enzon.