Contact | Print version | PDF version | Send article | RSS feed

Chemokine Therapeutics Continues Patient Therapy Using CTCE-9908 and Extends Closing of Its Phase I/II Clinical Trial

12 Dec 2007 - Chemokine Therapeutics Corp. announced that the Company is continuing to treat patients with stable disease participating in the CTCE-9908 Phase I/II clinical trial. Although enrolment was completed at the end of September 2007, three patients with stable disease continue to receive CTCE-9908 therapy. One patient with small bowel carcinoma is now completing the seventh month of therapy, the maximum allowed by the protocol.
 
Ongoing results of the Phase I/II trial continue to demonstrate that CTCE-9908 is well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicity observed up to the maximum dose of 5.0 mg/kg/day that was tested. The main side effect at the maximum dose tested has been moderate phlebitis (blood vessel inflammation).
 
The patients enrolled in this study all had terminal cancers with metastatic disease that no longer responded to standard therapy, or for which no curative therapy exists. Although final results were initially expected by year end, continued therapy of patients with stable disease has delayed the final compilation of data for the final study report until April 2008. The Company is continuing with its plans to start an international Phase II study in 2008 and is currently seeking to secure funding.
 
"The Phase I/II trial appears to have demonstrated that CTCE-9908 can be delivered for an extended period of time with limited toxicities," said Mr. Walter Korz, VP, Drug Development. "We are encouraged to see signs of efficacy considering these patients already have well established disease which has spread extensively."
 
CTCE-9908 is a peptide analog of the chemokine SDF-1, and an antagonist of its receptor, CXCR4. SDF-1 is the only known naturally occurring chemokine that binds to CXCR4, which is present on many cancer cells. This binding process is believed to be critical in the metastasis (or spread) of cancer cells to distant locations in the body, where they form secondary tumors.