Metabasis' liver cancer drug gets US OD status

USA-based Metabasis Therapeutics says that MB07133, its product candidate for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, or primary liver cancer, has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the Food and Drug Administration.

The agent is a novel HepDirect pro-drug of cytarabine monophosphate (araCMP) designed to produce the oncolytically-active form, cytarabine triphosphate (araCTP), in the liver tumor where it acts to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis or cell death. Preliminary results from a Phase I/II clinical trial for MB07133, which was completed in the second quarter of this year, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.