Oct 31 2011
CytRx Corporation (Nasdaq: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced favorable response and safety indications from a group of patients with advanced solid tumors (principally soft tissue sarcomas) in the Company's ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with INNO-206, its tumor-targeting conjugate of the commonly used chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. Patients in this portion of the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial received three different dose levels of INNO-206 to determine its maximum tolerated dose.
“The response from this small group of patients treated with INNO-206 is encouraging and we look forward to sharing the full, final data from the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in a presentation at ASCO 2012”
In the initial Phase 1b portion of the clinical trial, 12 patients, primarily with advanced soft tissue sarcomas, have received one or more administrations of treatment with INNO-206 in three-week cycles. The Company determined a maximum tolerated dose of INNO-206 that delivers a doxorubicin equivalent of 3½ times the standard doxorubicin dose administered to sarcoma patients. CytRx is currently enrolling additional patients who will be treated at that dose to gather further response data in parallel with the planned international Phase 2b clinical trial scheduled to start this quarter.
Of five patients who have completed four cycles with INNO-206 at the maximum tolerated dose, one patient has exhibited a partial tumor response (greater than 30% tumor shrinkage) and four patients have stable disease. Unexpectedly, a large, painful oral sarcoma that caused difficulty eating in one patient was greatly reduced following a single INNO-206 treatment. Common side effects reported to date from the Phase 1b/2 trial include low neutrophil (white blood cell) and platelet counts, minor mouth ulcers and mild nausea, which are expected side effects of doxorubicin.
"Initial data of response and safety from INNO-206 in this portion of the Phase 1b/2 trial are very important," said CytRx President and CEO Steven A. Kriegsman. "Although these initial results are from a limited number of patients, the individuals treated were very advanced in their disease and had previously received multiple different chemotherapy agents, including doxorubicin, so we are pleasantly surprised to observe stable disease, much less tumor shrinkage, in these cancer patients. We believe these early indications bode well for the potential success of our international Phase 2b clinical trial in patients who have advanced disease but were not previously administered chemotherapy."
"The response from this small group of patients treated with INNO-206 is encouraging and we look forward to sharing the full, final data from the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in a presentation at ASCO 2012," said Sant P. Chawla, M.D., F.R.A.C.P. The Phase 1b/2 clinical trial is being conducted at the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, Calif. under the direction of Dr. Chawla, a world-renowned expert in soft tissue sarcoma treatment who has evaluated most chemotherapies being tested in this indication.
In September 2011, CytRx announced completion of the maximum tolerated dose portion of the Phase 1b/2 trial, which included 12 patients. The patients from the early portion of the trial were evaluated for tumor response after four cycles of INNO-206. The Company also announced plans to add 12 patients to the Phase 1b/2 trial to receive INNO-206 at the maximum tolerated dose, and six of those additional patients have already been enrolled.
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