Caprion acquires therapeutic peptide

Canadian clinical-stage biotechnology firm Caprion Pharmaceuticals has announced the acquisition of a novel therapeutic peptide with what it describes as "compelling Phase IIa preclinical and clinical data for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors." Caprion expects to initiate two additional Phase IIb studies in cancer by the fourth quarter of 2006.

The peptide - originally named TT-232 and now referred to as CAP-232 - was discovered by Gyorgy Keri and developed by Tamas Szuts at Biostatin Pharmaceutical Research and Development of Budapest, Hungary. Biostatin characterized CAP-232's mechanism of action in several animal model studies demonstrating dramatic reductions in tumor volumes across multiple cancer indications. They successfully completed extensive preclinical toxicology studies and two Phase I clinical trials, demonstrating the safety and tolerability of CAP-232, which works through a novel mechanism targeting the distinct metabolism of tumor cells. CAP-232 showed early signs of efficacy in a Phase IIa trial in 12 patients with refractory metastatic melanoma.

The product is being in-licensed from Expergen, a technology transfer and development organization led by Paul Meng, who recognized the potential of CAP-232 and set out to identify the best global partners for its development. Financial terms were not disclosed.