BiPar expands BSI-201 program in brain cancer

USA-based BiPar Sciences says it has expanded the clinical program for its lead product candidate, BSI-201, into glioblastoma multiforme, the most common glioma in adults. The agent, the first poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor in BiPar's DNA repair portfolio, crosses the blood-brain barrier, a unique property that enables its targeted investigation in the brain tumor setting. This study is being conducted by investigators from the New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy consortium, a US National Cancer Institute-funded research group. In addition to GBM, BiPar is currently enrolling BSI-201 in a randomized Phase II trial for triple-negative breast cancer and is initiating Phase II trials in uterine and BRCA-negative ovarian cancers.

"We believe a multi-drug strategy is the best approach to battling GBM. There is a significant need for new treatments that can offer GBM patients and their families additional hope," said Stuart Grossman, professor of oncology, medicine and neurological surgery at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the co-chairperson for this study.

"BSI-201 is a promising agent that has been well tolerated in combination with cytotoxic therapies in patients with solid tumors and potentially addresses a key pathway by which GBM cells resist the effects of existing medications. We are hopeful that BSI-201 will safely potentiate the power of current therapies for GBM and improve survival in this difficult-to-treat cancer," said Jaishri Blakeley, assistant professor of neurology, oncology and neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and the study chairperson.