The general concept for antisense technology was first created in 1978. It has gone through a variety of technical adjustments over the years. Scientists coined the term “antisense” because the mRNA sequence is known as the “sense” sequence. Since this technology blocks the mRNA it became known as “antisense.”
In 2006, the first major breakthrough in this form of therapy occurred. While studying the Ebola virus, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases found that after using antisense drugs on infected monkeys, 75 percent of the subjects recovered from the disease. This was a paramount discovery because the mortality rate from Ebola is generally at 100 percent.
That same year, German physicians used an experimental antisense drug on patients with a type of brain cancer called gliomas. The results of the research showed that the drug could offer a potential cure for the usually fatal disease.
Working on the success of these and other experiments, many pharmaceutical companies began to experiment with formatting the technology into an approved drug form to help fight genetic disorders and genetic diseases. Isis Pharmaceuticals has become the first company to get an antisense drug approved by the FDA. Vitravene was released in 2008 in an injectable format. The active ingredient in the drug is fomivirsen sodium and its presently being used for patients with inflamed retinas and AIDS.
