Adherex Receives Regulatory Clearance For Phase II Weekly Dosing Schedule
[There are two pieces of news here: 1) The change from tri-weekly monotherapy dosing to weekly monotherapy dosing; and 2) The planned addition of trial sites in the U.S.]
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2006--Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX ; AMEX: ADH ), a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of oncology products under development, today announced that the Company has received regulatory clearance from Health Canada to convert the dosing schedule of its Phase II study of single agent ADH-1 to once every week from once every three weeks. Adherex is also adding clinical trial sites in the U.S. The trial is being performed at six centers in Canada.
"Based on our experience from our North American and European centers, this more dose dense, weekly dosing schedule of ADH-1 has been well tolerated and is preferable from a pharmacology standpoint," said William P. Peters, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Adherex.
This Phase II single-agent trial is designed to evaluate the anti-tumor activity and tolerability of repeated doses of ADH-1 in patients with lung, esophageal, adrenocortical, renal and hepatocellular cancers whose tumors express the molecular target N-cadherin. The trial is now expected to enroll up to an aggregate of 100 patients. The Company expects the trial to complete in the second half of 2006.
About Adherex Technologies
Adherex Technologies Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics. We aim to be a leader in developing innovative treatments that address important unmet medical needs in cancer. We currently have multiple products in the clinical stage of development, including ADH-1 (Exherin(TM)), eniluracil and sodium thiosulfate (STS). ADH-1, our lead biotechnology compound, selectively targets N-cadherin, a protein present on certain tumor cells and established blood vessels that feed solid tumors. Eniluracil, an oral dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) inhibitor, was previously under development by GlaxoSmithKline for oncology indications. STS, a drug from our specialty pharmaceuticals pipeline, protects against the disabling hearing loss that can often result from treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy drugs. With a diversified portfolio of unique preclinical and clinical-stage cancer compounds and a management team with expertise in identifying, developing and commercializing novel cancer therapeutics, Adherex is emerging as a pioneering oncology company. For more information, please visit our website at www.adherex.com. <<
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