Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Tuesday said it will begin Phase Itrials of ISIS 2105, an antisense drug designed to inhibit thegrowth of papilloma viruses.

The compound is the first injectable antisense drug to gaininvestigational new drug approval from the FDA. The trials willuse intralesional injections to treat the virus.

Papilloma viruses cause several diseases, including genital andcommon warts. Preclinical data of ISIS 2105 suggest that itmay cure genital warts and eliminate the virus from patients,according to the Carlsbad, Calif., company (NASDAQ:ISIP).Current treatments are not curative.

Isis stock closed Wednesday at $12.75, up 38 cents.

Antisense drugs inhibit the production of disease-causingproteins by preventing translation of the messenger RNA thatcodes for them. Genta Inc. (NASDAQ:GNTA) in August filed thefirst IND for an antisense compound, an ex vivo trial to treatchronic myelogenous leukemia. -- Holly Ganz

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