Progen begins first US PI-88 trial

Australian-based Progen Industries has begun enrollment in a Phase I/IIclinical trial of the anticancer compound PI-88. Last year, the firm terminated a Phase Ib trial and, although it did not provide any data from this early stage, it did note that it has been "informative in increasing our knowledge of PI-88's safety and tolerability profile," (Marketletter December 4, 2000). The first stage of the recent trial, which received a US ethics committee approval earlier this year, will determine the appropriate dosing and safety of PI-88 when it is administered subcutaneously to patients with advanced malignancies. The second phase will evaluate the product's effect on tumor progression in patients with advanced melanoma, as well as investigating its angiogenic properties.