Vion Initiates Phase 1 Trial of VNP40101M and Ara-C
NEW HAVEN, Conn., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (Nasdaq: VION - News) announced today that it had initiated a new Phase 1 trial of its anticancer agent VNP40101M in combination with Ara-C in patients with advanced leukemia. Enrollment of patients began at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Leukemia under the direction of Dr. Francis Giles, Chief of Experimental Therapeutics.
Results from a Phase 1 trial of VNP40101M as a single agent for the treatment of leukemia, presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, showed the drug to be active with minimal non-hematologic toxicity.
Dr. Mario Sznol, Vice President, Clinical Affairs, stated, "The mild non-hematologic toxicity profile for VNP40101M makes it a good candidate for combination therapy in leukemia."
Dr. Sznol added, "Ara-C is the most active agent in certain types of leukemia, and therefore the logical choice for combination with VNP40101M. Moreover, based on their individual mechanisms of action, we expect VNP40101M and Ara-C to demonstrate at least additive anti-tumor activity. We hope the information gained in this trial will lead to larger efficacy studies."
Dr. Giles noted, "In patients with leukemia, drugs whose dose-limiting toxicity during Phase 1 evaluation is myelosuppression are both rare and very exciting. A study in which we are combining such a drug, VNP40101M, with Ara- C, is one we are delighted to be able to offer to our patients."
VNP40101M has been evaluated in three Phase 1 trials to date, one in leukemia and two in solid tumors. Of these trials, a Phase 1 trial in solid tumors of a multiple dose schedule remains open to patients.
VNP40101M is a novel DNA-damaging agent with broad spectrum anti-tumor activity in preclinical studies, including activity in selected cell lines resistant to other alkylating agents, such as BCNU, cyclophosphamide and melphalan. Ara-C is a nucleoside analogue that is used alone and in combination for treatment of leukemia.
Vion Presents Preclinical Data on Triapine(R) at AACR Meeting
NEW HAVEN, Conn., July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: VION - News) announced today that preclinical data of its anticancer agent Triapine® in combination with Ara-C were presented in a poster session at the 2003 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
The experiments, performed in cancer cell lines, demonstrate that Triapine® increases uptake of Ara-C in cancer cells and at the same time increases incorporation of Ara-C into cellular DNA, which produces cell death. The combination of low doses of Triapine® followed by exposure to Ara-C resulted in either synergistic or additive cytotoxicity to cancer cell lines in vitro.
Dr. Mario Sznol, Vice President, Clinical Affairs, stated, "These preclinical data, together with similar data generated for gemcitabine, demonstrate that Triapine® consistently enhances the anticancer effects of nucleoside analogues. The recently initiated clinical trials of Triapine® in combination with Ara-C in leukemia and with gemcitabine in non-small-cell lung and pancreatic cancer will provide safety and activity information for these combinations in humans."
Triapine® is designed to be a potent inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, an enzyme important for DNA synthesis. Ara-C is a nucleoside analogue that is used alone and in combination for the treatment of leukemia. Gemcitabine is a nucleoside analogue sold under the brand name Gemzar® by Eli Lilly & Company for the treatment of certain solid tumors. |
