OTTAWA, Ontario - The cancer cell holds the mechanism to its own demise. Discovering the key to unlock the apoptotic process that will cause tumor cells to self destruct represents the Holy Grail of oncology research.

One company poised to be in the forefront of this wave of effort is Gemin X Biotechnologies Inc., of Montreal. Researchers at the company believe they have uncovered a novel approach to treating cancer with GX011, a potent Bcl-2 inhibitor that is highly selective for cancer cells. Bcl-2, an intracellular suppressor of apoptosis, plays a central role in the development of cancer. For example, the Bcl-2 family of proteins is commonly overproduced in B-cell lymphomas, liver, lung, prostate and colorectal cancers.

Speaking recently at the 8th International Conference on Differentiation Therapy in Montreal, Gordon Shore, professor of biochemistry at McGill University and chief scientific officer at Gemin X, reported that GX011 interacts with Bcl-2 in cancer cells to reinstate the normal cell death process.

Shore said GX011 is the product of the company's significant scientific expertise and drug discovery technology and represents a novel class of drug candidates that, in preclinical studies, selectively destroy cancer cells. "Our advanced understanding of apoptosis and how intervention into a cancer cell's survival mechanisms may allow us to specifically target cancer cells and not destroy healthy tissues," he said.

Although Bcl-2's key role in allowing cancer cells to survive has been well documented, it has proven to be an elusive target for developing novel therapeutic approaches to cancer. Drawing from the company's knowledge of Bcl-2 protein-protein interactions, a unique screening technology was developed, a process that eventually uncovered GX011 and its analogues.

The company said GX011 has demonstrated the ability to specifically reverse the inhibition of apoptosis in cancer cell lines. On the basis of these studies, Gemin X anticipates it will initiate clinical trials near the end of 2000.