"The pre-clinical and early clinical experience of CA4P makes the compound extremely well-suited for study in Phase II," said the trial's lead investigator, Scot C. Remick, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and International Health at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "Based on our Phase I experience, we are very pleased to continue development of this compound for the treatment of ATC. This clinical trial offers a unique opportunity to investigate a novel anti-tumor treatment, and to potentially establish CA4P as a new therapy."
In addition to the trial announced today, a Phase Ib trial of CA4P is underway at the University of Pennsylvania's Presbyterian Medical Center, where researchers are studying the VTA in combination with a chemotherapy drug called Carboplatin.
CA4P attacks the vascular structure of solid tumors and other diseases characterized by the formation of aberrant blood vessels. The compound triggers a change in the shape of endothelial cells lining a tumor's blood vessels. This in turn blocks the flow of blood to the tumor, depriving it of oxygen and nutrients. The compound is a synthetic form of CA4, a natural substance found in the bark of the South African willow tree known as combretum caffrum. CA4 was identified and isolated in 1987 by Professor G. Robert Pettit, director of the Cancer Research Institute at Arizona State University.
"Our Phase II study represents an opportunity to assess the preliminary efficacy of CA4P in a specific indication," said Dai Chaplin, Ph.D., OXiGENE's chief scientific officer. "This is particularly exciting because our Phase I study resulted in a complete pathological response in a patient with the identical disease."