Sarcoma News
February 6, 2012 - Cancer Survivor Shares His Musical Message Of Hope In Santa Monica
Early last week, cancer survivor Charlie Lustman visited the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica and revisited the stage at the Santa Monica Playhouse to share his musical message of overcoming difficult life challenges.
Lustman is a survivor of a one-in-400-million chance of being diagnosed Osteo Sarcoma in his upper jaw, and he says, “they sawed off my jaw,” but that did not stop him from writing, producing, and now performing a collection of pop songs about his journey in order to help others going through difficult life challenges.
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January 24, 2012
We are pleased to announce new findings on novel approaches to the treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcomas published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology. In this phase 2 study Ridaforolimus, an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin, was administered parenterally to heavily pretreated patients with metastatic disease.
Approximately 30% of patients received clinical benefit (CR+PR+SD) across all sarcoma subtypes1.
The initial results from the pivotal Phase 3 study of Ridaforolimius as maintenance therapy was presented at ASCO 20112. We hope these findings lead to the first new approved therapy for Sarcomas in over 20 years.
December 22, 2011
CytRx Initiates International Phase 2b Clinical Trial with INNO-206 in
Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma
-- Provides First Direct Clinical Trial Comparison of INNO-206 against
Doxorubicin as First-Line Therapy --
LOS ANGELES, Dec 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- -- Clinical Trial Marks
Major Advancement in INNO-206 Clinical Development --
-- Phase 2b Testing Supported by Promising Response and Safety Data
from Phase 1b/2 Clinical Trial --
CytRx Corporation /quotes/zigman/59404/quotes/nls/cytr CYTR -1.76% , a
biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced
the initiation of an international Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate
the preliminary efficacy and safety of its tumor-targeting doxorubicin
conjugate INNO-206 in patients with late-stage soft tissue sarcoma.
The Phase 2b clinical trial will provide the first direct clinical
trial comparison of INNO-206 with native doxorubicin, which is
dose-limited due to toxicity, as a first-line therapy.
"This trial is the next important step in advancing the development of
INNO-206 and follows encouraging response and safety indications from
the group of patients with advanced solid tumors, principally soft
tissue sarcomas, in the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial," said CytRx
President and CEO Steven A. Kriegsman. "We are addressing an unmet
medical need as patients with late-stage sarcomas have a poor
prognosis, with progression-free survival of around four to five
months and median overall survival averaging approximately 15 months."
Daniel Levitt, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at CytRx said,
"Several chemotherapy regimens have been explored as palliative
therapy for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas, with
combinations of ifosfamide and doxorubicin appearing to offer the
highest response rates and longest time to progression. However, these
regimens are quite toxic, especially for older patients, and have not
significantly increased survival in these individuals. INNO-206 may
represent a significant improvement over doxorubicin, as INNO-206,
with its tumor-targeting linker, allows us to deliver a doxorubicin
dose equivalent of 31/2 times the standard doxorubicin dose
administered to sarcoma patients without any apparent increased
toxicity. Because doxorubicin should be released from INNO-206 at the
site of the tumor due to its acid-sensitive linker, higher
concentrations of this lethal drug can accumulate within the malignant
cells."
The Phase 2b clinical trial with INNO-206 in patients with soft tissue
sarcomas is an international trial under the direction of
world-renowned expert in soft tissue sarcoma treatment Sant P. Chawla,
M.D., F.R.A.C.P., Director of the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa
Monica, Calif. Dr. Chawla also is acting as principal investigator for
the Company's ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with INNO-206.
The Phase 2b clinical trial's primary objectives are to measure the
progression-free survival, tumor response and overall survival of
patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas treated with INNO-206.
This clinical trial also will assess the safety of INNO-206 compared
to doxorubicin in this patient population through a number of
indicators, including the frequency and severity of adverse events.
The open-label trial will enroll 105 patients with metastatic, locally
advanced or unresectable soft tissue sarcoma at approximately 30 study
centers in the U.S., Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, India and
Australia. Patients will be randomized into two groups with twice as
many receiving INNO-206 as doxorubicin. Patients will be treated
intravenously once every 21 days for up to eight consecutive cycles
with INNO-206 administered drug at 350 mg/m(2) (260 mg/m(2)
doxorubicin equivalents) and doxorubicin administered at 75 mg/m(2).
About INNO-206INNO-206 is a novel conjugate of doxorubicin that binds covalently to
albumin, the most abundant protein in blood plasma, and is circulated
throughout the body. Doxorubicin is a standard chemotherapeutic
treatment for a variety of cancers and is used either alone or in
combination with other chemotherapy agents. INNO-206 is designed with
a linker that releases doxorubicin in the low pH environment of
tumors, concentrating the chemotherapeutic agent where it
preferentially damages the tumor while minimizing the effect on
healthy tissues. This conjugate formulation has the potential to
safely deliver greater amounts of doxorubicin directly to the tumor
compared with standard doxorubicin treatment, which could lead to
improved efficacy.
CytRx holds the exclusive worldwide rights to INNO-206 -- a platform
technology designed to reduce adverse events by controlling drug
release and preferentially targeting tumors. In addition to
doxorubicin, several other chemotherapy agents have been attached to
the linker used for INNO-206, including paclitaxel, cisplatin and
methotrexate, and may be incorporated into future clinical development
by CytRx.
About CytRx Corporation CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical research and development
oncology company engaged in the development of high-value human
therapeutics. The CytRx oncology pipeline includes three programs in
clinical development for cancer indications: INNO-206, tamibarotene
and bafetinib. With its tumor-targeted doxorubicin conjugate INNO-206,
CytRx has initiated an international Phase 2b clinical trial as a
treatment for soft tissue sarcomas, is completing its ongoing Phase
1b/2 clinical trial and plans to initiate a Phase 2 trial for an
undisclosed solid tumor indication in the first half of 2012. CytRx's
pipeline also includes tamibarotene, which it is testing in a
double-blind, placebo-controlled, international Phase 2b clinical
trial in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, and which is in a
clinical trial as a treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).
The Company is evaluating bafetinib in the ENABLE Phase 2 clinical
trial in high-risk B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), and
plans to seek a partner for further development of bafetinib. For more
information on the Company, visit
http://www.cytrx.com
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or
results described in the forward-looking statements, including risks
or uncertainties related to the outcome, timing and results of CytRx's
Phase 1b/2 and Phase 2b clinical trials for INNO-206 in patients with
advanced solid tumors, the risk that INNO-206 might not show greater
efficacy than doxorubicin notwithstanding the administration of higher
doses than the standard of care, the risk that additional longer-term
dosing of INNO-206 might cause adverse events not seen to date in
CytRx's Phase 1b/2 trial, the risk that patients in the Phase 2b
clinical trial might not respond as well as the initial patients in
the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, uncertainties regarding whether
INNO-206 effectively targets doxorubicin to tumors, uncertainties
regarding regulatory approvals for current and future clinical testing
of INNO-206 and the scope of the clinical testing that may eventually
be required by regulatory authorities for INNO-206, the significant
time and expense that will be incurred in developing any of the
potential commercial applications for INNO-206, including for soft
tissue sarcomas, risks related to CytRx's ability to manufacture its
drug candidates, including INNO-206, in a timely fashion,
cost-effectively or in commercial quantities in compliance with
stringent regulatory requirements, risks related to CytRx's need for
additional capital or strategic partnerships to fund its ongoing
working capital needs and development efforts, including any future
clinical development of INNO-206, and the risks and uncertainties
described in the most recent annual and quarterly reports filed by
CytRx with the Securities and Exchange Commission and current reports
filed since the date of CytRx's most recent annual report. All
forward-looking statements are based upon information available to
CytRx on the date the statements are first published. CytRx undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
SOURCE: CytRx Corporation