OGX-225 is a second generation antisense drug designed to inhibit the production of both Insulin Growth Factor Binding Protein -2 and -5 (IGFBP-2, IGFBP-5) for the treatment of cancer. Increased IGFBP-2 or IGFBP-5 production is observed in many human cancers, including prostate, non-small cell lung, breast, ovarian, bladder, pancreatic, colon, AML, ALL, glioma, neuroblastoma, and melanoma. Increased IGFBP-2 or IGFBP-5 production is linked to faster rates of cancer progression, treatment resistance and shorter survival duration in humans.

Pre-clinical studies conducted by the Vancouver Prostate Centre and others in human prostate, bladder, glioma and breast cancer, have shown that reducing IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-5 production with OGX-225 sensitized these tumor types to hormone ablation therapy or chemotherapy and induced tumor cell death.