Genasense blocks a gene called BCL-2, which produces a protein that prevents cells from self-destructing through a process called apoptosis.

FORBES: Genta's Tangled Path

Chemotherapy works by traumatizing cancer cells until they kill themselves, and getting rid of BCL-2 makes it easier to eliminate the cancerous cells.

FORBES: Genta's Tangled Path

Genasense, which is used in combination with chemotherapy, works by targeting a key "cell suicide" gene called bcl-2 and then inducing cancer cells to kill themselves.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Examination of 75 patients showed that the activity of bcl-2 in a tumour was a strong indicator that a patient would respond well to a drug called tamoxifen.

ECONOMIST: An un-killer app

"I don't think that either the people who discovered BCL-2 in the late '80s or the people at Genta back in 1992 knew what they were picking up, " says Warrell.

FORBES: Genta's Tangled Path

Dr Meterissian presented the results of a study showing how two genes, called bcl-2 and p53, could be used to predict the responses to different treatments of patients with breast cancer.

ECONOMIST: An un-killer app