Therapy
A SDF-1 Receptor Antagonist Shows Significant Reduction of Metastatic Lung Nodules Associated with Osteosarcoma
By Akanksha, Pharmacology Correspondent
Mar 20, 2005, 08:15

Chemokine Therapeutics Corp., a biotechnology company developing drugs in the field of chemokines and cytokines, has announced that investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported a two-thirds reduction in the number of visible metastatic lung nodules using the Company's investigational drug CTCE-9908 in a pre-clinical study of osteosarcoma.

The study results are consistent with a pre-clinical study of CTCE-9908 conducted by researchers at Chemokine Therapeutics. CTCE-9908 is designed to inhibit the growth and spread of certain common cancers with the potential for use with existing therapies (chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation) to improve treatment outcomes.

Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer which can spread (metastasize) to the lungs, bone marrow and liver.

The NCI findings will be the subject of a Poster Session on April 17th at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2005 Annual Meeting to be held in Anaheim, California. The abstract is available on Chemokine Therapeutics' website. The Company will announce additional information after the poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference.

Recently, researchers discovered that the growth and spread of cancer are affected by a chemokine known as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1). SDF-1 is produced naturally in organs such as the bone marrow, liver, and lungs and is an important regulator of stem cells.

SDF-1 acts on receptors which are expressed in both stem cells and various common cancers. The presence of these receptors on cancer cells allows the cancerous cells to migrate from the original cancer site to new sites that are rich in SDF-1, such as bone marrow, liver, and lungs, where they develop new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and form new tumors (metastases).

CTCE-9908 is an analog of SDF-1 and antagonist of SDF-1 receptors developed by scientists at Chemokine Therapeutics using rational-drug design.

CTCE-9908 binds competitively to the receptors on cancer cells which prevents the interaction of SDF-1 with the receptors. A recently completed Phase I study of this compound in healthy adults did not reveal any significant toxicity.

Chemokine has been collaborating with the National Cancer Institute's Pediatric Oncology Branch since February, 2004. The NCI continues to evaluate the oncological potential of CTCE-9908. The NCI is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of eight agencies that compose the Public Health Service (PHS) in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The NCI, established under the National Cancer Act of 1937, is the principal agency for cancer research and training of the United States federal government.

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