Novel DNA-Based Therapy Called Elenagen, from CureLab Oncology, Achieves Significant Reduction in Mortality and an Increase in Overall Survival in Platinum‑Resistant Ovarian Cancer – BioQuick News
January 13, 2026
Novel DNA-based therapy achieves reduction in mortality in resistant ovarian cancer
January 15, 2026Therapy could increase ovarian cancer survival, paper finds - Drug Discovery World (DDW)
A novel DNA-based therapy could increase survival rates for women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, a new paper reveals.
A new clinical study, published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, shows the DNA-based therapy Elenagen, when administered in combination with standard chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, significantly extended overall survival rates for patients with the deadliest form of ovarian cancer.
Analysis shows women who received Elenagen plus chemotherapy lived significantly longer than those who received chemotherapy alone, with median overall survival increasing from approximately 13 months to over 25 months. The risk of death was also reduced by nearly 60%.
“As a gynaecologic oncologist, I see firsthand how devastating platinum-resistant ovarian cancer is for patients and their families,” said Dr Gabriel Levin, Gynaecologic Oncologist at McGill University Health Centre and co-author of the study.
“What makes these findings so meaningful is not only the improvement in survival but the fact that this was achieved without adding toxicity. Our hope is that therapies like Elenagen can shift how we think about cancer treatment by supporting the body’s biology rather than simply escalating chemotherapy.”
Elenagen emerged from ‘serendipitous discoveries’
Elenagen, developed by biotech company CureLab Oncology, works by reducing chronic inflammation and altering the intratumoral environment, facilitating the penetration of immune cells (tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs). Simultaneously, the drug impairs metastatic cells’ ability to exit the tumour and form remote lesions, while preventing the tumour from suppressing the active immune response.
“My original idea was simple when I first proposed using DNA encoding the p62 protein as a cancer therapeutic vaccine,” said Dr Alexander Shneider, CEO of CureLab Oncology, inventor of Elenagen, and senior author of the paper.
“Cancer cells produce too much p62 and are ‘addicted’ to it, so we aimed to train the immune system to recognise and eliminate them, eliciting anti-p62 immune response. The rest came as serendipitous discoveries.
“However, nature is always more complex than we model it to be. Humbly following those unexpected signals gave us new insight into where existing standards of care fail — and how Elenagen may help fill those gaps.”
CureLab is currently planning Phase II/III clinical trials in the US and EU.
