Zactima Phase III Trials to Start for Lung Cancer Treatment

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Article Date: 11 Jul 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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AstraZeneca announced that it is to progress to Phase III studies with its novel oncology compound ZD6474 - now to be known by its trade name, ZACTIMATM. Recruitment to Phase III studies evaluating the anti-tumour activity of ZACTIMATM in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will begin in the next few months.

ZACTIMATM is a unique once-daily oral therapy that selectively targets key signalling pathways in cancer including: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor signalling resulting in inhibition of tumour angiogenesis; and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signalling which may lead to direct inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and survival. ZACTIMATM also inhibits RET kinase which may be important in certain tumours.

New data from two Phase II studies - Trials 003 and 006 - with ZACTIMATM will be presented at the 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, July 6. Trial 003 compares ZACTIMATM monotherapy with gefitinib (IRESSA®) monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Preliminary results of Trial 006, presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in May 2005, assessed the anti-tumour efficacy of ZACTIMA™ in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere®) in patients with advanced lung cancer. The results showed that the primary endpoint of improved progression free survival (PFS) was met. For the secondary endpoint of overall survival no significant effect of ZACTIMA™ was observed, possibly due to the small number of patients involved and the fact that survival data was potentially confounded by subsequent therapies.

Both progression free survival and survival outcomes will be investigated in Phase III trials.

July 4, 2005

ZACTIMA™ (ZD6474) is a trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.

MediaEnquiries:
Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5034
Steve Brown, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5033

Investor Enquiries:
Mina Blair, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5084
Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5087

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