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Phase II clinical trial of Biomira's PX-12 in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer now open for patient enrollment
Phase II clinical trial of Biomira's PX-12 in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer now open for patient enrollment.
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nEDMONTON, Jan. 2 /CNW/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOM) (TSX: BRA) today\nannounced that the Phase II clinical trial of PX-12 in patients with advanced\npancreatic cancer is open for enrollment. PX-12 is a proprietary small\nmolecule designed to inhibit the activity of thioredoxin (Trx-1), a protein\nthat regulates a number of cancer-related pathways. Biomira anticipates that\nthe first patient in the trial will be treated in January 2007.\n\n\nThe randomized, open-label Phase II trial will evaluate two dose levels\nof PX-12 in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer whose tumors have\nprogressed while being treated with gemcitabine or gemcitabine-containing\nregimens. Up to 80 patients are expected to be enrolled in the trial at three\ncenters in the United States: the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in\nScottsdale, Arizona; the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson; and the\nUniversity of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The United States\nNational Cancer Institute (NCI) is partially funding the trial under a\nClinical Trials Agreement with the Translational Genomics Research Institute\n(TGen). The principal investigator for the trial is Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD.\n\n\n\"Trx-1 is known to control diverse molecular pathways that contribute to\nthe growth, survival and drug resistance of many cancers,\" said D. Lynn\nKirkpatrick, Ph.D., Biomira's Chief Scientific Officer. \"By inhibiting Trx-1,\nPX-12 may have utility in a variety of cancer indications, including\npancreatic cancer, an aggressive malignancy for which there are limited\ntreatment options and significant unmet medical needs.\"\n\n\nAbout PX-12\n\n\nPX-12 is an irreversible inhibitor of thioredoxin (Trx-1), a protein that\nregulates many transcription factors including hypoxia inducible factor\n(HIF)-1 alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and activator\nprotein 1 (AP-1). These factors play a critical role in cancer cell growth,\nsurvival and resistance to chemotherapy. Increased thioredoxin levels in\ncancer cells have been linked to the aggressive proliferation of solid tumors,\nincluding colon, lung, and gastric cancers. PX-12 has successfully completed\nPhase I safety evaluation and is currently being studied in a Phase IB trial\nfor the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. An initial Phase I trial\ninvolving 38 patients with ...