Lorus Therapeutics Announces a Scientific Publication on Therapeutic siRNA in Cancer Therapy

Lorus Therapeutics Inc. has announced publication of scientific data from preclinical studies demonstrating the antitumor activity of its lead small interfering RNA (siRNA) candidate, siRNA-1284.

The article titled "RNA interference targeting the R2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase inhibits growth of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo" is published online in the peer-reviewed journal Anti-Cancer Drugs and will appear in print in the April issue.

The paper presents data indicating that siRNA-1284 significantly decreases the expression of the R2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase in a range of human tumor cell lines in vitro.

Lorus' research demonstrates that down-regulation of R2 led to a significant decrease in tumor cell growth and subsequent cell cycle inhibition in vitro.

siRNA-1284 also demonstrated potent antitumor activity in vivo in xenograft models of human cancers including renal cell carcinoma, melanoma and colon adenocarcinoma. This article marks Lorus' first major publication of detailed scientific findings for research in the area of RNA interference and siRNA technology.

"We are pleased with the publication of these data in Anti-Cancer Drugs and see it as further validation of Lorus' progress in translating RNA interference science into clinically relevant therapeutics," said Dr. Aiping Young, Lorus' President and CEO.

"Gene silencing by RNA interference is a valuable tool in gene function studies and a novel therapeutic approach to drug development. The results presented in this publication further validate R2 as an important antitumor target," Young added.