44% bioavailability for Poniard's picoplatin

The USA's Poniard Pharmaceuticals says that an analysis of data from its ongoing Phase I clinical trial of an oral formulation of picoplatin in patients with solid tumors showed that it can achieve oral bioavailability of up to 44% in doses tested to date.

These findings, which were presented at the 2008 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, held in San Diego, are consistent with those from preclinical oral bioavailability studies of picoplatin. The company also reported at the AACR meeting findings from a preclinical study demonstrating that picoplatin retains its activity in small cell lung cancer cell lines made resistant by treatment with cisplatin, carboplatin or oxaliplatin. The firm's lead product candidate is a new-generation platinum chemotherapy agent with the potential to become a platform product addressing multiple indications, combinations and formulations.