Strong animal data for SDP-103

The USA's SD Pharmaceuticals says it has completed a battery of preclinical studies on SDP-013, its novel nano-emulsion formulation of the cancer drug paclitaxel, which showed equal or superior efficacy in a mouse model of human ovarian cancer (SK-OV-3 cell line), a "very favorable" toxicity profile and a lack of immunogenicity compared to the existing branded formulation of the drug, sold by US health care major Bristol-Myers Squibb as Taxol.

The firm concluded that SDP-013 is equivalent to Taxol and free of the immunogenicity associated with it and other paclitaxel formulations. The agent also showed dose-dependant efficacy in a mouse model, as judged by reduction in tumor burden, that were equal to or slightly better than Taxol with similar, if not superior, side effect profiles. The comapany added that the immunosensitivity study showed no sensitization, which it describes as a "major problem" with the currently-marketed Taxol formulation.