http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2005/vancouverdevelopedprostatedrug.htm

2005 News - 2005/09/07: Vancouver developed targeted drug-therapy for
prostate cancer shows promise

Results from Phase I Clinical Trial released in prestigious Journal of the
National Cancer Institute.

Vancouver developed targeted drug-therapy for prostate cancer shows
promise: Results from Phase I Clinical Trial released in prestigious
Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Results of a Phase I prostate cancer clinical trial show that a new
targeted drug significantly reduces the expression of a protein which
causes tumours to become resistant to treatment. The prestigious Journal
of the National Cancer Institute published the results this week.

The drug, OGX-011 ? a new class of smart drugs ? targets cancer cells at
the molecular level. OGX-011 works by sensitizing tumours that have become
resistant to conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy
and radiation therapy. Specifically, OGX-011 targets the protein
clusterin, which is expressed in many cancers. Clusterin prevents cancer
cell death thereby undermining the effectiveness of standard therapies.

For the study, researchers from the BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the
Provincial Health Services Authority, and the Prostate Centre at Vancouver
General Hospital recruited 25 patients with localized prostate cancer
(cancer contained to one site) and candidates for a prostatectomy, but who
were at higher risk of their cancer relapsing. Patients received
escalating doses of OGX-011 over a one-month period along with hormone
therapy prior to their radical prostatectomy. At the highest dose,
researchers found that clusterin expression was reduced by more than 90
per cent. Even at the highest dose the drug was well-tolerated with no
severe side-effects.

"With this study, we were able to determine that OGX-011 is biologically
doing what it's supposed to and at a dose that is well-tolerated by
patients," says Dr. Kim N. Chi, principal investigator and medical
oncologist with the BC Cancer Agency and the Prostate Centre at VGH.

Based on the strength of the Phase I clinical data, researchers at the BC
Cancer Agency and the Prostate Centre at VGH are now leading Phase II
clinical trials for prostate, breast and lung cancers. "We were able to
identify the optimum dose of the drug in Phase I trials, and that the drug
causes more cancer cells to die during treatment than would have
otherwise," says Dr. Martin Gleave, Director of Clinical Research at the
Prostate Centre at VGH. "What we want to find out in Phase II trials is
does this translate into a benefit for patients?" Phase II trials will be
conducted in centres across Canada and the USA.

The pre-surgery study was supported through a grant from the US Department
of Defense Army Medical Research and Materials Command. The study was
coordinated by the Clinical Trials Group (based at Queens University) of
the National Cancer Institute of Canada, which is funded by the Canadian
Cancer Society. An unrestricted grant-in-aid was provided by
sanofi-aventis Canada.

OGX-011 was discovered and patented by a team of researchers led by Dr.
Martin Gleave at the Prostate Centre at VGH. OncoGenex Technologies, a
Vancouver-based biotechnology company spun-out from the Prostate Centre
and the University of British Columbia, has since licensed OGX-011 and is
currently developing and commercializing OGX-011 with corporate partner
Isis Pharmaceuticals. "The Vancouver drug development network, including
leading research centres, emerging biotechnology companies, and
entrepreneurs, is a model for how new knowledge and discoveries can
quickly be translated from the laboratory bench to the patients' bedside,"
says Scott Cormack, President and CEO of OncoGenex.

In addition to Drs. Chi and Gleave, the paper's authors include Drs. Larry
Goldenberg, Elizabeth Eisenhauer, Ladan Fazli, Edward Jones, Jean Powers
and Dongsheng Tu.

The BC Cancer Agency, a part of the Provincial Health Services Authority,
is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality
from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with
cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people
of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range
of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and
treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and
palliative care. The BC Cancer Research Centre conducts research into the
causes and cures for cancer.

The Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital (established in 1993) is
a national Centre of Excellence, Canada's most comprehensive, and one of
the world's leading facilities for research and treatment of prostate
cancer. The Prostate Centre is part of the Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority and comes under its research umbrella, the Vancouver Coastal
Health Research Institute. The Centre's focus is not just prostate cancer,
but other benign diseases of the prostate.

The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute is the research body of
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. In academic partnership with the
University of British Columbia and philanthropic partnership with VGH &
UBC Hospital Foundation, we bring innovation and discovery to patient
care, advancing healthier lives in healthy communities across British
Columbia, Canada, and beyond.

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