Lilly's enzastaurin: good combo drug at Ph I

US drug major Eli Lilly says that data presented at the American Society of Clincial Oncology's annual meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia, reveal that its investigational anticancer drug enzastaurin can enhance the benefits of standard-of-care chemotherapies.

According to Lilly, three Phase I studies show its potential for synergistic or additive affects without excessive toxicity in advanced solid tumors including lung, breast, pancreatic and head and neck cancers, in combination with Gemzar (gemcitabine)/cisplatin, Alimta (permetrexed) and Roche's Xeloda (capecitabine). Lilly noted that each study showed that the combination demonstrated good tolerability across all dose levels and without significant pharmacokinetic disruption.

Also at the ASCO meeting, Lilly presented preclinical data on enzastaurin showing in vitro activity against a variety of tumors, including certain non-small cell lung cancer and small cell cancer lines, as well as chemoresistant ovarian cancers. The study additionally found that the agent had synergistic effects with Alimta in all of these cancer models.