BTG Tackles Gastric Cancer with Novel Anti-Cancer Agent; Phase I/II trial to be initiated for drug with promising cancer fighting abilities.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2003 BTG BTG BIT (Built-In Test) Target Generator BTG Bridging the Gap BTG British Technology Group BtG Betreuungsgesetz (Germany) BTG Biomass Technology Group BV BTG Begbies Traynor Group (LSE LSE - Language Sensitive Editor : BGC BGC General Cable Corporation (stock symbol) BGC Billy Graham Center BGC Baptist General Conference (formerly Swedish Baptist Denomination) BGC Boys & Girls Club BGC Bubblegum Crisis ), the global technology commercialization company, today announced plans for the further development of a potential treatment for gastrointestinal cancers such as gastric and pancreatic. The drug, BGC 9331, which is a non-polyglutamatable thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor, will be investigated in a phase I/II trial for its use as a first-line treatment for gastric cancer gastric cancer Stomach cancer, see there . Worldwide, gastric cancer is the second most common cancer, causing approximately 750,000 deaths each year (WHO statistics). In the US alone, there will be more than 22,000 new cases of gastric cancer in 2003 and approximately 12,000 deaths. The drug (previously known as ZD9331) originated from a collaboration between the Cancer Research UK Centre for Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research (Sutton, UK), AstraZeneca UK Ltd and BTG. AstraZeneca was granted rights to develop and market the drug and undertook an extensive pre-clinical and clinical development program, in which they performed over 20 trials involving nearly 1000 patients. BTG has now acquired the commercial rights to BGC 9331, along with the comprehensive pre-clinical and clinical data package. Recently, an independent scientific advisory board made up of expert clinical oncologists reviewed the data and recommended that further clinical trials were warranted due to the encouraging efficacy in advanced gastrointestinal tumors such as pancreatic and gastric. After completion of the upcoming trial, BTG will seek a partner to further develop and commercialize this technology. "In a previous phase II trial in gastric cancer, there was an overall objective response rate of 25%, a rate in line with combination therapy responses and higher than the majority of single-agent chemotherapy treatments," said Professor Stan Kaye of The Institute for Cancer Research. "And the estimated median survival was 384 days, which is longer than most chemotherapy agents - single or combination - for patients with advanced gastric cancer.(1) If this can be confirmed in further trials, it would be an attractive treatment option for gastric cancer patients." "BTG has an excellent track record in identifying novel cancer therapies, helping build them into attractive opportunities through patent management and technical development, and then marketing them to the pharmaceutical industry," said Anthony V. Lando, BTG's Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. . "BTG has demonstrated this ability with compounds such as Campath(R), and we believe we can replicate that success with BGC 9331." BTG will be exhibiting at the AACR AACR American Association for Cancer Research AACR Anglo-American Cataloging Rules AACR Australasian Association of Cancer Registries AACR African Armed Conflicts Resolved symposium in Washington, DC, July 11-14, 2003 (Booth #1413). About BTG BTG finds, develops and commercializes emerging technologies in the life and physical sciences. These innovations are protected by a strong portfolio of intellectual property that BTG develops and enhances. BTG then captures the value in these technologies through licensing and venturing activities. From the origins of its business in 1949, BTG has commercialized major innovations such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), noninvasive diagnostic technique that uses nuclear magnetic resonance to produce cross-sectional images of organs and other internal body structures. (MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. ), recombinant factor IX blood-clotting protein, Campath(R) (alemtuzumab) and Multilevel mul·ti·lev·el adj. Having several levels: a multilevel parking garage. Adj. 1. multilevel - of a building having more than one level Cell (MLC (MultiLevel Cell) A flash memory technology that stores more than one bit per cell. Traditional flash memory defines a 0 or 1 bit based on a single voltage threshold. ) memory. BTG is quoted on the London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange London marketplace for securities. It was formed in 1773 by a group of stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in local coffeehouses. under the symbol "BGC" and operates from offices in London and Philadelphia, with representation in Tokyo. BTG operates through wholly owned subsidiaries, BTG International Ltd. and BTG International Inc. in the UK and USA, respectively. Further information on BTG can be found at www.btgplc.com. About The Institute of Cancer Research The Institute of Cancer Research was established in 1909 to investigate the causes of cancer and develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The Institute is now a center of excellence employing some of the world's leading scientists working on cutting edge research. Its worldwide reputation is based on a tradition of significant achievements. For more information, please visit www.icr.ac.uk. (1) See Anti-Cancer Drugs 2003, Vol 14 (suppl 1), pp S7-S12, for more detail |
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