MGI Pharma Clear To Start Cancer Trials

28 October 1996

MGI Pharma has concluded its clinical trials agreement with the US National Cancer Institute seeking to codevelop MGI 114, its acylfulvene-based anticancer drug. The NCI will now sponsor clinical trials of the drug in tandem with MGI's own development schedule for the compound.

MGI licensed rights to the acylfulvenes from the University of California in 1993, and since then has completed several preclinical trials. It currently has a Phase I study of the drug in progress.

"Mushroom Drug" The acylfulvenes are derived from the jack o' lantern mushroom and have a chemical structure distinct from currently used anticancer drugs. Preclinical investigations have revealed activity against a range of solid tumor cell lines, including melanoma and tumors of the colon, lung and breast, as well as multidrug-resistant lines.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK

Companies featured in this story

More ones to watch >

Today's issue

Company Spotlight

Ironwood is a US-based biotech advancing a pipeline of medicines in multiple areas of significant unmet need, including irritable bowel syndrome with constipation ((IBS-C)/chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), vascular and fibrotic diseases, and refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease, among others.