Antisoma sees strong Ph II AS1404 data in NSCLC

London, UK-based cancer drug developer Antisoma has reported positive initial findings from a second, confirmatory Phase II trial of AS1404 in non-small cell lung cancer. In this 30-patient study, a 1,800mg/m2 dose of the agent in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy yielded a 50% response rate.

Antisoma added that a further 43% of patients showed disease stabilization, while only 7% had progressive disease as their best response. Addition of AS1404 to chemotherapy was well-tolerated despite the use of a dose 50% higher than that used in previous combination studies.

The data were presented at the Tumor Microenvironment meeting, held in Florence, Italy. Further data from the trial, including time-to-progression and survival findings, are expected during the second half of this year. An earlier randomized controlled Phase II study of the the small-molecule vascular-disrupting agent in lung cancer showed a five-month increase in median survival in patients receiving 1,200mg/m2 of AS1404 plus carboplatin and paclitaxel. Initial data from other controlled Phase II trials in ovarian and prostate cancers have demonstrated increased response rates with addition of AS1404 to standard chemotherapy, the firm noted.