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Thursday, 06/28/2012 7:37:52 AM

Thursday, June 28, 2012 7:37:52 AM

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Aeterna Zentaris: Partner Yakult Initiates Phase 1 Trial in Multiple Myeloma with Perifosine in Japan

QUEBEC CITY, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZ) (the "Company") today announced that its Japanese partner Yakult Honsha ("Yakult") (Tokyo: 2267) has initiated a Phase 1 trial in multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, with perifosine, the Company's oral Akt/PI3K inhibitor drug. Yakult, who are sponsoring and conducting this trial in Japan, reported that a first patient has been treated with perifosine.

This is an open-label, two step Phase 1 trial in which perifosine is combined with bortezomib (Velcade®) and dexamethasone in patients with refractory multiple myeloma who had previously been treated with bortezomib. The trial is expected to include a total of 18 patients (6 in step 1 and 12 in step 2). Patients will receive perifosine daily (50 mg, Days 1-21) in combination with bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2, Days 1, 4, 8 and 11) and dexamethasone (20 mg, Days 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12) according to a three-week cycle (21 days ± 3 days). The primary endpoint is safety while secondary endpoints include response rate, progression-free survival, and time to tumor progression.

Juergen Engel, PhD, President and CEO at Aeterna Zentaris stated, "We would like to thank our partner Yakult for their close collaboration in initiating this important Phase 1 trial in multiple myeloma which is necessary at this time in order to comply with Japan's specific registration requirements. Perifosine, also currently in a Phase 3 trial in other parts of the world in multiple myeloma for which we expect to reach an interim analysis in the first quarter of next year, remains a key component of our deep pipeline focused on providing novel, targeted treatment options for cancer patients facing unmet medical needs".

About Perifosine

Perifosine is a novel, oral anticancer treatment that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. It has been granted orphan drug and orphan medicinal product designations from both the FDA and EMA for multiple myeloma. Perifosine has also received Fast Track designation from the FDA and positive Scientific Advice from the EMA with results from the Phase 3 trial in multiple myeloma expected to be sufficient for registration in Europe, as well as in North America. Perifosine is also being explored in combination therapy and in monotherapy in other cancer indications. Aeterna Zentaris holds rights to perifosine for North America and Europe, while rights have been licensed to Yakult Honsha for Japan, to Handok for Korea, and to Hikma Pharmaceuticals for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

About Aeterna Zentaris

Aeterna Zentaris is an oncology and endocrinology drug development company currently investigating treatments for various unmet medical needs. The Company's pipeline encompasses compounds at all stages of development, from drug discovery through to marketed products. For more information please visit www.aezsinc.com.

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