A recent article in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, the world's number one biotech publisher, carried a good report on Cardium Therapeutics and Generx, a Cardium product candidate. Generx is a DNA-based angiogenic growth factor therapeutic used to stimulate the growth of supplemental collateral blood vessels in the hearts of patients with advanced coronary artery disease. Superior to medicines that only provide transient relief of symptoms, Generx is designed to actually enhance myocardial blood flow in heart patients without having to resort to invasive surgical procedures. Availability of such a treatment option is especially important in many parts of the world where more elaborate procedures are not readily available or affordable.
The article explains how patients with coronary artery disease (angina) have had the Generx Ad5FGF-4 vector infused into their coronary arteries. Cardium researchers found that patients with more severe coronary artery disease responded better than those with less severe disease. The fact that a medicine's effectiveness increases with the severity of disease might be considered encouraging, but researchers wanted to know why this was happening. They found that multiple blockages in a coronary artery, like a prolonged blockage, causes vasodilation, exposing more vessels and more surface area, along with increased vessel permeability. This allows enhanced Generx uptake, increasing its effectiveness. More importantly, the Coxsackie Adenovirus Receptor (CAR), normally buried in the tight junction, is exposed.
Gabor Rubanyi, M.D., Ph.D., and CSO of Cardium Therapeutics, summarized the finding: "When there is ischemia or any injury, then these tight junctions loosen up and these proteins all of a sudden are exposed and can bind the virus. Transfection starts with adenovirus fiber protein attaching to this receptor."
It's a good example of Cardium's ongoing efforts to understand the underlying nature of genes and the human body, allowing improvements and new discoveries that continue to drive the company's progress.
For additional information, visit CardiumTHX.com
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