Cell Pathways, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company plan to cooperate in supporting a clinical trial to study the combination of Aptosyn (exisulind) and TAXOL (paclitaxel) plus Paraplatin (carboplatin) as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced non- small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This Phase I/II study is designed to evaluate escalating doses of Aptosyn in combination with a standard regimen of TAXOL plus Paraplatin.
The two companies intend to share the costs of this effort and share information.
“Our selective apoptotic anti-neoplastic drugs (SAANDs), including Aptosyn, have demonstrated synergistic anti-cancer effects in preclinical studies when combined with taxanes including TAXOL,” said Rifat Pamukcu, M.D., chief scientific officer of Cell Pathways.
“This new study extends the breadth of our current clinical investigations by using Aptosyn in combination with chemotherapeutic agents commonly used as first-line treatment in patients with NSCLC.
This is an indication where current treatment options are limited, and it is our hope that this drug combination may eventually demonstrate improvement in survival in this high mortality disease.”
Cell Pathways’ lead drug candidate, Aptosyn, is an investigational, oral agent that is designed to selectively trigger programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in precancerous and cancer cells via a mechanism of action different from currently marketed chemotherapeutic agents.
The combination of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s TAXOL and Paraplatin is the most commonly used regimen in community practice for the first-line treatment of NSCLC.
Cell Pathways, Inc., headquartered in Horsham, is a development stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialisation of novel and unique medications to prevent and treat cancer.