Abraxis BioScience to present updated survival findings from ABRAXANE Phase I/II trial at 101st AACR meeting

Apr 9 2010

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABII), a fully integrated biotechnology company, announced that the updated survival findings from a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the chemotherapy agent ABRAXANE^® for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in combination with gemcitabine for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer will be discussed during a keynote address on April 20 at the 101^st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Washington, D.C. The updated survival data points follow our interim data from the Phase I/II pancreatic clinical trial presented at the 45^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This trial data will be locked shortly, and the resulting protocols have been employed for an ongoing Phase III trial currently enrolling patients.

Pancreatic cancer can be particularly hard to treat because many patients are diagnosed after their disease has progressed. This year, more than 42,000 people are estimated to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States and approximately 35,000 people will die from the disease. Recent research indicates that a an exceptionally dense stroma around pancreatic tumors contributes to treatment difficulty, and that delivery systems that can break through this surrounding mass may deliver more drug to the cells and improve outcome.

ABRAXANE is currently approved for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within six months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated. ABRAXANE has also been granted orphan drug designation by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of pancreatic cancer as well as stage IIB-IV melanoma.