Clinuvel drug enters Ph II in skin cancer trials

Melbourne, Australia-based photo-protective drug firm Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals has commissioned an immediate start to Phase II trials to test its drug CUV1647 as a preventative for sun damage and actinic keratosis, which forms a precursor to skin cancer. This heralds the start of the Phase II study in a precursor to skin cancer indication for the drug, aimed at providing prophylactic treatment for a large population of fair-skinned patients, the company noted.

The trial will evaluate the drug's ability to reduce the incidence of AK and irreversible skin damage in immune compromised organ transplant patients. Fair-skinned patients who have received organ transplants are 65-100 times more likely to subsequently contract skin cancers because of the side effects of critical life-long administration of immune-suppressive drugs.

Around 150 patients at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and centers in Brisbane and Adelaide, as well as in Europe will participate in the trial, which is expected to take two years.