29 August 2019
Starpharma said both DEP-cabazitaxel and DEP-docetaxel had been showing “promising interim results”, with several patients dosed with DEP-cabazitaxel showing efficacy signals in tumors including prostate, ovarian and pancreatic cancer.
In January 2018, Starpharma said it had approval for a 35-patient, open-label, phase I/II dose-escalation trial for DEP-cabazitaxel to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of DEP-cabazitaxel, to define a recommended phase II dose and to determine the anti-tumor efficacy of the product (BD: Jan 31, 2018).
In September 2017, Starpharma said its phase I trial of DEP-docetaxel showed “encouraging signs of efficacy” and it would proceed to a 52-patient phase II trial in lung and prostate cancer, starting with DEP-docetaxel as a monotherapy and in combination with Nintedanib (BD: Sep 22, 2017).
Today, Starpharma said patients treated with DEP-cabazitaxel or DEP-docetaxel showed a “notable” lack of bone marrow toxicity in addition to other signs of efficacy, with several patients with a variety of tumor types dosed with DEP-cabazitaxel showing a decrease in specific tumor biomarkers, such as prostate-specific antigens.
Starpharma chief executive officer Dr Jackie Fairley said the company was “very pleased with these early observation for DEP-cabazitaxel, particularly for those patients who have had long-standing stable disease and reduced bone marrow toxicity which often results in significant side-effects … with [cabazitaxel alone] therapy”.
“The fact that we are seeing efficacy in a variety of tumors such as prostate, pancreatic and ovarian is extremely promising,” Dr Fairley said.
“The growing body of clinical data from our DEP-docetaxel and DEP-cabazitaxel products demonstrates the compelling advantages for patients and for our commercial partners,” Dr Fairley said.
“The commercial utility of the DEP platform is also evidenced by our partnerships, including with Astrazeneca, and we look forward to them taking their first DEP candidate AZD0466 into the clinic later this year,” Dr Fairley said.
Website link: starpharma.com
