We currently have one lead compound undergoing development and several more in the product pipeline. Our lead compound acts to shut down the Bcl-2 gene. Bcl-2 is a proto-oncogene; in a mutated form it acts to render chemotherapy less effective by blocking the release of a compound called cytochrome C which is involved in causing cancer cells to commit suicide. Unlike first generation post-genomic technologies, GeneICE silences Bcl-2 before it can be expressed, rather than by blocking the products of expression, and this results in it being an extremely effective at silencing the gene.
Mis-expression of Bcl-2 has been associated with most cancers and it is currently thought that Bcl-2 is overexpressed in up to 80% of breast cancers, 90% of prostate cancers and 80% of leukaemias. As such the potential market for GeneICE is very large.
A suite of knockdown reagents, based on the GeneICE technology are being developed. Simplified chemistries, optimised for high volume reagent production, are being exploited initially for in-vitro systems to be followed by an in-vivo range. The reagents will also be available as fluorescently labelled derivatives.