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- Posted Thursday January 29, 2009
TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare and Mayo Clinic study expands for new cancer drug
TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare
and Mayo Clinic are testing a new drug that may offer broad
potential to treat solid tumors.
Clinical trials of the drug TH-302 are being conducted at TGen
Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, a partnership
of the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute
(TGen) and Scottsdale-based Scottsdale Healthcare Corp., and at
Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Dr. Glen Weiss, Director of Thoracic Oncology at TCRS at Scottsdale
Healthcare, said the new drug appears promising and may be more
effective and less toxic to healthy tissues than conventional
drugs.
"TH-302 is a new, novel, small molecule that is activated under a
metabolic condition characteristic of cancer cells - hypoxia (lack
of oxygen). The drug candidate may provide an opportunity to treat
slowly dividing tumor cells within hypoxic regions that generally
evade traditional chemotherapeutic agents and ultimately contribute
to relapse," Dr. Weiss said.
Phase 1 and Phase 1/2 trials are underway to investigate the safety
and activity of TH-302 in patients with advanced solid tumors.
After evidence of tumor activity was observed in the Phase 1 trial
in patients with advanced melanoma - both non-small cell lung
cancer and small cell lung cancer - the study was expanded to
further investigate TH-302 anti-tumor activity in these tumors.
Both Phase 1 and 1/2 trials continue to enroll patients with other
solid tumors. If successful, Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials will
confirm the drug's effectiveness on solid tumors.
In cancer, as a tumor grows, it rapidly outgrows its blood supply,
leaving portions of the tumor with regions where the oxygen
concentration is significantly lower than in healthy tissues. This
condition is called tumor hypoxia. Several studies have shown that
higher levels of tumor hypoxia correlate with poor treatment
outcomes for a variety of solid tumors. It is believed that hypoxia
may severely limit the curability of tumors.
TH-302 is converted selectively in the presence of hypoxia to the
drug's active form, bromo-isophosphoramide mustard, a potent DNA
alkylator. TH-302 targets levels of hypoxia that are common in
tumors but are rare in normal tissues - this is how selective
targeting of the tumor occurs. After conversion to the active form
of the drug, the more resistant hypoxic cells are exposed to high
concentrations of released cytotoxic agent, which can also diffuse
into the oxygenated regions of a tumor cell. The Phase 1/2 trials
are investigating the safety and activity of TH-302 in combination
with a number of conventional chemotherapies that are believed to
be effective in the non-hypoxic regions of solid tumors.
The clinical trial at TCRS at Scottsdale Healthcare will
investigate the safety and pharmacology of multiple doses of TH-302
in patients with late-stage cancer. For more information about this
clinical trial, please call Joyce Ingold, R.N., research patient
care coordinator for Scottsdale Healthcare, at 480-323-1339. At
Mayor Clinic, clinical trial coordinator Dianna Boughter can be
reached at 480-301-9875.
# # #
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking
research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on
helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological
disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. For more
information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
About Scottsdale Healthcare
Scottsdale Healthcare is a primary clinical research site for TGen.
TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare is
housed in the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale
Healthcare, located on the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea medical
campus. Scottsdale Healthcare is the not-for-profit parent
organization of the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, Scottsdale
Healthcare Osborn and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak
hospitals, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Scottsdale Clinical
Research Institute, TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale
Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Home Health Services, Scottsdale
Healthcare Community Health Services, and Scottsdale Healthcare
Foundation. For additional information, visit www.shc.org.
Contact:
Alice Sluga
Public Relations Coordinator
Scottsdale Healthcare
480-882-4915
[email protected]
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of only 39 U.S. medical centers
that have been named as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Comprehensive Cancer Center. To receive this designation, an
institution must meet rigorous standards demonstrating scientific
excellence and the ability to integrate diverse research approaches
to address the problem of cancer. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the
only national, multi-site center with the NCI's Comprehensive
Cancer Center designation. In Arizona, Mayo's clinical and research
experts work together to address the complex needs of cancer
patients, with a dedication to understanding the biology of cancer;
discovering new ways to predict, prevent, diagnose and treat
cancer; and transforming the quality of life for cancer patients
today and in the future.
About Threshold Pharmaceuticals
Threshold is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and
development of drugs targeting Tumor Hypoxia, the low oxygen
condition found in microenvironments of most solid tumors. This
approach offers broad potential to treat most solid tumors. By
selectively targeting tumor cells, we are building a pipeline of
drugs that hold promise to be more effective and less toxic to
healthy tissues than conventional anticancer drugs. For additional
information, please visit our website (www.thresholdpharm.com).