Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the use of its Survivin antagonist. The company will open a phase-I study evaluating safety of the Survivin antagonist during the first quarter of 2009.

"We are excited to advance our second LNA compound, which targets Survivin, into the clinic," said Jeffrey H Buchalter, chairman and chief executive officer of Enzon. "This is a well established and important oncology target."

Survivin is a key protein that controls cancer growth by playing a significant role in cell division, as well as, inhibiting programming that controls cell death. The Survivin antagonist has been developed, using the Locked Nucleic Acid technology platform, to inhibit Survivin. In preclinical animal studies, this compound inhibits Survivin expression, tumour growth and potentiates the anti-tumour activity of taxol, an approved cancer therapeutic. Enzon first presented its Survivin RNA antagonist last year at the 4th Annual Meeting of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS). The initial preclinical data are further described by Enzon's partner, Santaris Pharma, in an article in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics (2008): "SPC3042: a pro-apoptotic survivin inhibitor."

Enzon Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development, manufacturing, commercialization of important medicines for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions.