Antisoma reports promising preclinical data

UK-based cancer drug developer Antisoma says that preclinical data, announced at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, indicate the potential utility of three of its developmental compounds in the treatment of a variety of cancers.

In the first of three separate presentations, the firm reported that a combination of its vascular disrupting agent, AS1404, with Roche's anti-angiogenic Avastin (bevacizumab) and paclitaxel had shown powerful antitumor effects in a xenograft human lung-cancer model. The firm said that the data build on previous xenograft findings that indicated a significant synergistic effect between combined AS1404 and paclitaxel, and added that it was preparing to initiate a large-scale Phase III trial of AS1404 and combined chemotherapy in lung cancer.

Antisoma's second presentation focused on its aptamer drug AS1411. The results of preclinical trials indicated that the agent kills a wide variety of cancer cells, while having no effect on healthy fibroblast cell lines. The company added that, in contrast to other cytotoxic drugs, AS1411 is slow-acting, mediating its effect over several days.