SRI International Reacquires Rights to Tirapazamine, a Phase III Cancer Drug.MENLO PARK Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and a Stanford Univ. research institute are there. 2 Uninc. , Calif. -- SRI International (company) SRI International - One of the world's largest contract research firms. Founded in 1946 in conjuction with Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, they later became fully independent and were incorporated as a non-profit organisation under U.S. , an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it has regained from Sanofi-Aventis all rights to tirapazamine, a cancer drug that reached Phase III clinical trials. The drug is a bioreductively-activated, hypoxia-selective small molecule that acts primarily in hypoxic hypoxic a state of hypoxia. hypoxic cell sensitizers compounds that selectively sensitize hypoxic tumor cells to the effects of radiation. regions of tumors, wherein tirapazamine radicals cause double-stranded DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. breaks. Additive cell killing through this mechanism would be predicted in combination with other chemotherapeutics and antitumor an·ti·tu·mor also an·ti·tu·mor·al adj. Counteracting or preventing the formation of malignant tumors; anticancer. Adj. 1. regimens, including radiotherapy. It was originally identified as an anticancer agent by SRI and Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. researchers investigating oxygen deficiency (hypoxia hypoxia Condition in which tissues are starved of oxygen. The extreme is anoxia (absence of oxygen). There are four types: hypoxemic, from low blood oxygen content (e.g., in altitude sickness); anemic, from low blood oxygen-carrying capacity (e.g. ) in solid tumors. "Tirapazamine has been shown to be highly effective in experimental models, and we are interested in finding the right partner to continue clinical development of the drug," said Edward Spack, Ph.D., senior director of business development, SRI Biosciences Division. "To date it has been studied in patients with head and neck, non-small cell lung, ovarian, and other cancers, with mixed results. Clinical studies are continuing, including government and investigator-sponsored trials." About SRI's Biosciences Division SRI International's Biosciences Division is an organization of approximately 200 people with all of the resources necessary to take biological and chemical research programs from "idea to IND"[TM] - from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials. SRI Biosciences is a unique organization: it conducts basic research like a university, performs drug discovery and develops biologics like a biotechnology company, and is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers a full range of preclinical development and pharmaceutical sciences services. SRI Biosciences specializes in cancer, immunology, infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. , and neurosciences research. To date, SRI has developed nine drugs internally that have entered clinical trials, with several more currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Marketed examples of these drugs include Targretin([R]) (bexarotene) and Halfan([R]) (halofantrine). Additionally, working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance on the order of 100 drugs into clinical trials, and 30 drugs onto the market. Through collaborations with other divisions at SRI, Biosciences is also working at the interfaces of science to create technical platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as drug delivery, devices, diagnostics, and systems biology. About SRI International Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute Stanford Research Institute - Former name of SRI International. in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships, and creates spin-off companies. |
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