First Reports On Glaxo's Antiemetic Follow-up Drug

Speaking at the 19th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Lisbon, Portugal, Chris Jordan, head of gastrointestinal science at Glaxo, reported on the company's new neurokinin antagonist, CP-99,994, which is under consideration as a follow-up candidate antiemetic to ondansetron.

Dr Jordan said that ondansetron and other 5-HT3 drugs do not offer adequate control of cisplatin-induced delayed emesis. One possible approach to alleviate this problem, said Dr Jordan, is through the use of a neurokinin antagonist, of which CP-99,994 is the company's lead candidate.

The drug shows good efficacy in control of emesis in the ferret model induced by cisplatin, cyclophosphamide and radiation, and against emetogens against which 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are only partially effective, such as morphine.