A tremendous overstatement' Other companies and researchers working on cancer drugs complained about the coverage that angiostatin and endostatin got for EntreMed, which has taken a dizzying ride on the stock market since the article was published. Rosen has progressed to the human testing of another drug similar to angiostatin and endostatin called SU5416, which was developed by Sugen Inc. of Redwood City, California. Angiostatin, endostatin and SU5416 are among more than 300 new cancer treatments undergoing clinical tests. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, it takes about 15 years to bring an experimental drug out of the lab for use with human patients. Derived from shark tissue, squalamine is an inhibitor of angiogenesis, as are endostatin and angiostatin.
Angiogenesis inhibitors prevent blood from reaching tumors, killing the tumors.
Agouron of La Jolla, California, has started Phase II and III safety and efficacy trials of its AG3340 compound, another drug that blocks blood vessel formation and which patients could take as a pill. The company says THP-dox seeks out and destroys developing blood vessels in tumors. In animals, it has killed up to 95 percent of solid tumor cells by starving them of their blood supply. It is licensed to Oxigene, a Swedish medical technology company. Dozens of other laboratories are looking at gene therapy, aimed at replacing the faulty genes that can lead to cancer.