Trials begin for Protarga's cancer drug

Protarga claims to have started the first Phase II trial in the USA of afatty-acid targeted cancer agent. The study, using Taxoprexin (docosahexaenoic acid combined with paclitaxel), also markes the first time that a taxane chemotherapy has been evaluated by patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Phase II studies of Taxoprexin for the treatment of eight different types of cancer (breast, colorectal, kidney, lung, pancreas, prostate, skin and stomach) are currently underway in the USA and the UK, as is a study of the drug in combination with carboplatin, after a Phase I trial showed it to be safe compared to conventional chemotherapies (Marketletter May 29, 2000). Studies have suggested that conjugating paclitaxel to DHA leads to a tenfold increase in the intratumoral concentration of the drug.