Phosphagenics' cancer drug: strong early data

Victoria, Australia-based drugmaker Phosphagenics reported strong preclinical trial data on its patented anticancer agent GTP-0805. Oral GTP-0805 in combination with tamoxifen inhibited the rate of tumor growth by more than three times the rate achieved by the established breast cancer drug tamoxifen alone.

Conducted at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, the trial, which was designed to examine the potential antitumor properties of various doses of the drug in a preclinical breast cancer model, showed that GTP-0805 and tamoxifen produced a 78% reduction in breast tumor growth compared to a 21% drop with tamoxifen monotherapy. In addition, GTP-0805 appeared to promote the earlier antitumor activity of tamoxifen.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and is a leading cause of cancer-related death amongst those aged between 35 and 54 years. The firm's managing director, Harry Rosen, said that the result provides a "significant opportunity" for Phosphagenics to expand its pipeline. "The potential market for GTP-0805, both as an adjunct cancer therapy to tamoxifen and possibly to other cancer medications, could be significant," he said. The company will now investigate the combination of GTP-0805 with other cancer drugs and in other forms of cancer. The agent was derived from Phosphagenics' bioavailability and potency-enhancing phosphorylation platform.