Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Supergen (supg) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: keokalani'nui who wrote (109)	11/13/2001 10:11:32 AM
From: tuck	Respond to of 124

>>DUBLIN, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SuperGen Inc. (Nasdaq: SUPG - news) announced today that data from a phase I/II study of its anticancer drug pentostatin (Nipent) in combination with cyclophosphamide showed a 73 percent (16/22) response rate in treating patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). ``In 41 percent of evaluable patients, the response to this salvage regimen was superior to the response achieved with any other treatment, including the patients' initial therapy,'' said Mark Weiss, M.D., an associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and the study's lead investigator. Dr. Weiss presented his clinical data over the weekend to his colleagues attending the ``19th Annual Symposium on Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow'' in New York City, which was co-sponsored by Mount Sinai School of Medicine and The Chemotherapy Foundation. According to Dr. Weiss, 22 patients diagnosed with CLL were enrolled and treated with a fixed dose of Nipent and one of two dose levels of cyclophosphamide. The median number of earlier treatment regimens was three, and 12 patients were refractory (non-responsive) to prior fludarabine therapy. Of the 20 evaluable patients, there were 16 responses, including 4 complete responses, for an overall response rate of 73 percent. In the fludarabine- refractory group, the response rate was similar at 75 percent. ``The combination of pentostatin (Nipent) and cyclophosphamide is extremely active,'' said Dr. Weiss. ``On the basis of the excellent activity and tolerability of this combination therapy, we have recently initiated study of a three-drug combination -- pentostatin, cyclophosphamide and rituximab -- in previously treated patients with CLL.'' ``Nipent is already being marketed for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia (HCL), and these data affirm our belief that Nipent is active in a number of other hematologic malignancies,'' said Dr. Joseph Rubinfeld, chairman and chief executive officer of SuperGen. ``Our plan is to aggressively continue the clinical development of Nipent for additional indications.'' CLL is the most common form of leukemia in the western world. It accounts for approximately 25 to 30 percent of all leukemias. CLL occurs more frequently in older individuals but is seen increasingly in younger patients as well. It is twice as common in men as in women.<< snip Cheers, Tuck