Incorporation of NexACT technology helps reduce dose of Å6 compound for ovarian cancer treatment

Apr 29 2010

NexMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM), a specialty CRO with a pipeline of products based on the NexACT^® technology, today announced that results from a pre-clinical study showed significant improvement in the delivery and half life of Å6, a proprietary peptide treatment for ovarian cancer currently in Phase 2 development by Angstrom Pharmaceuticals. Specifically, the incorporation of NexACT^® enabled the dose of Å6 to be cut by half, or from twice per day to once per day delivered subcutaneously, while achieving the same level of efficacy in the mouse lung metastasis model.

“This study was NexMed's first entry into the subcutaneous delivery of peptide drugs, and the results further confirmed the depot-like effect of the NexACT® technology which we had seen in our subcutaneous delivery studies with insulin and taxol.”

Bassam Damaj, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of NexMed, stated, "These new findings, incorporating the NexACT-A6 peptide formulation, correlate with the half life and delivery profile of the Å6 compound from Angstrom's previous studies using the higher dose. The positive results offer Ångstrom the potential to clinically test the NexACT-Å6 peptide at much higher doses while maintaining continuous coverage of the intended therapeutic target in human patients." Dr. Damaj further added, "This study was NexMed's first entry into the subcutaneous delivery of peptide drugs, and the results further confirmed the depot-like effect of the NexACT^® technology which we had seen in our subcutaneous delivery studies with insulin and taxol."

Malcolm Finlayson, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Ångstrom noted, "Our relationship with NexMed continues to evolve in a fast and promising way. This new data is very exciting and warrants further investigation to support the opportunity to license the NexACT^® technology for human clinical trials."