Lucanix Phase II Clinical Data At ASCO - Lung Cancer

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 01 Jun 2006 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

NovaRx Corporation announced today that data from the Company's Phase II clinical trial treating individuals with advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer ("NSCLC") will be presented on June 4, 2006, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology ("ASCO") meeting in Atlanta, GA. The Phase II study was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of Lucanix(TM), a novel therapeutic treatment under development by NovaRx. In contrast to conventional cancer therapies, where systemic chemotherapeutic drugs nonspecifically kill the tumor and normal cells, the therapeutic vaccine developed by NovaRx specifically induces the patient's immune system to attack the tumor. In clinical studies to date, the side effects of this treatment have been minimal compared to the severe side effects associated with traditional therapies.

Habib Fakhrai, Ph.D., President & CEO of NovaRx and the inventor of the technology, said "We are pleased that ASCO has provided the company with the opportunity to present the data from our completed Phase II clinical trial for individuals with NSCLC."

John Nemunaitis, M.D., Executive Director of the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center in Dallas, TX and one of the three principal clinical investigators of the trial, will be the presenter of NovaRx's Lucanix study results.

The therapeutic vaccine being developed by NovaRx consists of four non-small cell lung cancer cell lines that were originally derived from lung cancer patients. These cell lines have been engineered to block production of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-Beta). TGF-Beta is a potent agent commonly produced by cancer cells that paralyzes the patients' immune system, thus preventing an anti-tumor response. Lucanix was shown to induce immune-mediated antitumor responses in NSCLC cancer patients and to delay disease progression.

There are 170,000 new cases of lung cancer and 160,000 death caused by lung cancer in the United States annually. Non-small cell lung cancer is responsible for approximately 130,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. each year and is the number one cause of cancer death throughout the world.

NovaRx Corporation is a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California. The company is developing new therapeutic approaches for treating cancer with its lead indication focused on non-small cell lung cancer. NovaRx holds the exclusive worldwide license for this patented technology for the treatment and prevention of numerous indications, including but not limited to lung, brain, breast, colon, prostate and melanoma cancers. Patents have been issued in the U.S., Europe and Japan that protect the Company's intellectual property. Additionally, the Company is planning to initiate a multi-center pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial treating individuals with glioblastoma multiforme or gliosarcoma (brain cancers) in the second half of 2007. The Company is the recipient of two National Institutes of Health grants. Proceeds from these grants will partially offset the cost of the planned pivotal Phase II/III brain cancer trial.

NovaRx Corporation
http://www.novarx.com

• Additional
• References
• Citations