The PR -
WATERTOWN, Mass., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- OXiGENE (Nasdaq: OXGN - news; SSE: OXGN) reported today that a new independent study validates the value of its vascular targeting agent Combretastatin (CA4P), as part of a two-pronged attack on malignant tumors. The study published in Cancer Research demonstrates that CA4P, in combination with radioimmunotherapy (RIT), which involves radiation targeted to the tumor cells by antibodies, ``can significantly enhance the anti tumor action of RIT and produce long-term cures.''
Tumors were eradicated in 85% of mice in the study and at the conclusion of the study, more than 9 months after treatment, there was no histological evidence of residual tumor cells in the cured mice. The research was conducted at Royal Free and University College Medical School and by the Gray Laboratory Cancer Research Trust in London.
``We are excited by these results,'' said Dr. R. Barbara Pedley, head of the Tumor Biology Group at the University College Medical School of London, and senior author and lead investigator of the study, ``The eradication of these tumors demonstrates for the first time the potential therapeutic benefit that can be achieved when Combretastatin (CA4P) is combined with an antibody based treatment approach. The antibody-directed therapies effectively treat the outer area of the tumor. They do not penetrate into central tumor regions, however, and thus these regions survive and regrow. CA4P selectively destroys these central regions, thus turning a non curative treatment into a curative one.''
``We are greatly encouraged that an independent study shows such positive results for the use of CA4P in combination with antibody based treatments,'' said David Chaplin, head of research and development at OXiGENE. ``We believe this places OXiGENE in an enviable position, as CA4P is shown to be an effective agent for treating cancer when used in conjunction with antibody based therapies at a time when the use of antibody based treatments for fighting cancer continues to increase.''
CA4P destroys the blood vessels that support a tumor, and has shown as a monotherapy in laboratory settings and in human clinical trials -- that it can effectively cut off the blood supply to a malignant mass at doses that are well tolerated. This latest study showed that by combining vascular targeting with antibody-directed radiation therapy, the CA4P destroys the tumor from the inside out, while the radiation destroys the tumor from the outside in. Furthermore, by destroying the blood flow, CA4P may have trapped the antibodies inside the tumor to prolong their effect.
CA4P is the subject of a research collaboration and licensing agreement executed in December 1999 between OXiGENE and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the world leader in oncology therapy. Final Phase I data from Europe, presented at ASCO in May, indicate CA4P as a single agent did achieve a reduction in blood flow in malignant tumors within tolerable dose levels. Data from the phase I studies revealed evidence of anticancer activity, including 4 patients with minor reductions in tumor size, 7 other patients with stable disease over at least 4 cycles (21 days per cycle) and one pathological complete response. Final results from the Company's two U.S. Phase I clinical trials will be presented later in the year... |
