Progen Resumes Phase 1 Development of Anti-Cancer Agent, PG-11047
Wednesday May 14, 9:16 pm ET
BRISBANE, Australia, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progen Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:PGL - News; Nasdaq: PGLA - News) today announced that the Company has resumed patient enrolment in the phase 1 dose-escalation study of its recently acquired polyamine analogue, PG-11047 (formerly CGC-11047) for patients with advanced cancer.
Progen has commenced development of PG-11047 - the lead clinical compound in the Company's polyamine program - following its acquisition of Cellgate, Inc earlier this year. The first patient to be recruited into the trial re-initiation has been enrolled at the University of Chicago.
The trial is exploring the potential of PG-11047 as a single anti-cancer agent and is designed to assess the agent's maximum tolerated dose. Under CellGate, the trial had recruited 31 patients and had shown little evidence of toxicity, while using significantly higher doses than most previous studies of polyamine compounds.
Justus Homburg, Progen's CEO, said, "Since the acquisition of CellGate, we have been assessing our portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical compounds in order to determine which to drive forward. Our re-initiation of PG-11047 in phase 1 clinical development is the first step in driving potential value from our expanded portfolio of first-in-class oncology therapies."
Data from the trial will be used in parallel with a separate PG-11047 study assessing the agent in combination with other marketed anti-cancer drugs as the basis for determining potential phase 2 development. Progen expects the study to produce data within the next 12 months.
About Progen: Progen Pharmaceuticals is a globally focused biotechnology company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule pharmaceuticals primarily for the treatment of cancer. Progen has operations in Australia and the US.
About PG-11047: PG-11047 is a polyamine analogue which modifies the production of natural polyamines. Polyamines are a class of chemical which are involved in regulation of cell growth. They are overproduced in many cancers, and PG-11047 is believed to restore polyamine reduction to natural levels. Despite being the focus of scientific interest for many years, this mechanism is unique, and if successful, PG-11047 could become a first-in-class oncology product. To date, PG-11047 has been shown to have anti-tumor activity in animal models, combined with a good safety profile.
surf's up......crikey
