RICHMOND, Va., Jul 19, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) today announced that two independent studies were recently presented to the National Cancer Institutes 12th Annual Meeting of SPORE, (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence) July 10-13, 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland. The goal of the SPORE program is to bring to clinical care settings novel ideas that have the potential to reduce cancer incidence and mortality, improve survival, and to improve the quality of life.
The first presentation titled, "Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitors Suppress Angiogenesis and Invasion of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Inducing IGFBP-3 Expression" was presented by Dr. Ho-Young Lee of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The data demonstrated in models of human head and neck cancer that the novel class of compounds called farnesyl transferase inhibitors (FTIs) exert their anti-tumor activity largely through upregulation of IGFBP-3. In these studies, FTIs induced IGFBP-3 expression which resulted in decreased angiogenic and invasive activities of cancer cells. Specific blockade of IGFBP-3 expression significantly decreased the anti-tumor activities of FTIs in these models of cancer.
An additional presentation titled, "IGF Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP-3) Induces Apoptosis and Suppresses Growth of Prostate Cancer Tumor Xenografts in an RXR- and Nur77-Dependent Mechanism" was presented by Dr. Pinchas Cohen of UCLA, which focused on the effects of IGFBP-3 in promoting prostate cancer cell death. In these experiments, treatment of cells with recombinant human IGFBP-3 and a RXR-specific ligand resulted in rapid nuclear localization of IGFBP-3. In prostate tumor-bearing mice, coadministration of rhIGFBP-3 and the RXR ligand were shown to inhibit prostate tumor growth by 50% with a concomitant decrease in serum prostate specific antigen levels.
More on rhIGFBP-3
Our proprietary product, rhIGFBP-3, is a protein that is normally found in our bloodstream that has been shown to induce cancer cell death in a variety of experimental systems. Several studies have demonstrated that cancer risk increases with decreasing levels of circulating IGFBP-3. In addition, recent independent studies have demonstrated that IGFBP-3 can induce cell cycle arrest and enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. Insmed is currently engaged in an active preclinical program with leading clinical oncologists and world experts in the field of IGFBP-3 research to evaluate the efficacy of rhIGFBP-3 as a therapeutic agent and to define the optimal clinical protocol in which to translate these promising observations into human clinical trials
About SPORE
In 1992, the NCI established the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) to promote interdisciplinary research and to speed the bi-directional exchange between basic and clinical science to move basic research finding from the laboratory to applied settings involving patients and populations. For more information about SPORE, please visit http://spores.nci.nih.gov/.
About Insmed
Insmed is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine diseases with unmet medical needs. For more information, please visit www.insmed.com.
Statements included within this press release, which are not historical in nature, may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding expected business strategies, pre-clinical and clinical plans, growth opportunities for existing or proposed products, plans and objectives of management, demand for new pharmaceutical products and market trends in the pharmaceutical business. Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks that product candidates may fail in the clinic or may not be successfully marketed, the company may lack financial resources to complete development of product candidates, competing products may be more successful, demand for new pharmaceutical products may decrease, the biopharmaceutical industry may experience negative market trends and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these and other risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those described in this press release.
