Myrexis to present Phase 2 monotherapy study results of Azixa in patients with GBM

Oct 22 2010

Myrexis, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYRX), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for cancer, today announced it will present at the 2010 Society for Neuro-Oncology Scientific Meeting and Education Day, to be held November 18-21, 2010 in Montreal, Canada. 

Dr. Sean Grimm of the Northwestern University Brain Tumor Institute will present a poster with updated results from an ongoing, open-label Phase 2 monotherapy study of Azixa in treatment-experienced patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The presentation will focus on the subset of enrolled patients with the poorest prognosis who had relapsed following both first- and second-line chemotherapy, including Avastin® (bevacizumab).

Azixa is a novel small molecule that acts as a microtubule destabilizing agent, causing an arrest of cell division with subsequent programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in cancer cells. In non-clinical studies, Azixa has demonstrated the ability to effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in the brain at levels as much as 3000% that in the plasma. In addition, Azixa does not appear to be subject to multiple drug resistance (MDR) mechanisms. As such, Azixa has significant potential as a treatment for primary and secondary brain cancers.

In addition to the ongoing Phase 2 Azixa monotherapy study in treatment-experienced GBM, Myrexis plans to initiate enrollment in a Phase 2b clinical study of Azixa in front-line GBM patients. The planned two-arm, randomized, controlled study will evaluate Azixa in combination with standard of care temozolomide compared to temozolomide alone.