Phase II Data With Scotia's Cachexia Drug

Scotia's current run of good news in its product pipeline continued withthe presentation of positive Phase II results with SC-101c for the treatment of cachexia in cancer patients. The data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition held in Blackpool, UK, on December 5.

SC-101c is a derivative of the fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid, and has shown early promise in the amelioration of severe weight loss which can affect patients with many types of cancer.

In the Phase II study, 27 patients with severe weight loss due to pancreatic cancer were treated with SC-101c. Some of the patients experienced a reversal in weight loss, while around 50% of the subjects actually increased in weight. In other patients the rate of weight loss slowed, while in four patients the loss continued at its previous rate.