The development of antisense compounds will provide physicians with a highly efficacious family of compounds exhibiting favorable side-effect profiles. Within this class, Genta''s Genasense is predicted to be the key compound. The development of antisense therapeutics provides a rapid discovery-to-laboratory time frame that would suit the limited cash resources of the biotechnology sector and provides substantial innovative pipeline-building potential. However, the success of this class of compounds is largely dependent on the level of skepticism the physicians and the pharmaceutical industry holds upon the initial product launches, and how well they individually perform in the clinic. This report discusses the rise of the antisense therapeutic in cancer, and the skepticism surrounding the class’ history, whereby a successful product launch has the potential to create a new wave of therapy evolution.
