Celltech's Cancer Drugs Move Onwards

At its annual general meeting on February 29, Celltech of the UK reported new clinical advances with two of its cancer products - CDP 771 for acute myeloid leukemia and CDP 671 for ovarian cancer - which are being developed in collaboration with American Home Products.

David Bloxham, chief executive of Celltech Therapeutics, told the meeting that CDP 771 (also known as CMA 676), a human anti-CD33 antibody conjugated to the cytotoxic agent calicheamicin, has now completed its first clinical trial in the USA. The study was conducted in AML patients who had failed to respond to conventional chemotherapy.

It was found that CDP 771 was well-tolerated up to the highest dose level tested (4mg/m2). The main side effect was fever of usually short duration which was treated with paracetamol. There were no other adverse events associated with repeat treatment of the drug, an important finding as this is the first time that calicheamicin, a vastly cytotoxic agent, has ever been given as a therapeutic to humans.