Calydon Begins U.S. Clinical Trial of the First Tissue-Specific Viral Therapeutic for Prostate Cancer.BALTIMORE--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 2, 1998--Cancer researchers began testing Monday of an experimental drug in men with advanced prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. that has been engineered to selectively replicate in and kill human prostate cancer cells. It is the first viral therapeutic that acts exclusively upon cells found in a specific tissue or organ. This therapeutic, CN706, was developed by Calydon, Inc., a Sunnyvale, CA-based drug discovery and development company. The Phase I clinical trial Noun 1. phase I clinical trial - a clinical trial on a few persons to determine the safety of a new drug or invasive medical device; for drugs, dosage or toxicity limits should be obtained phase I has been designed to assess the safety of different dosages of CN706 in patients with advanced and recurring prostate cancer. Antitumor an·ti·tu·mor also an·ti·tu·mor·al adj. Counteracting or preventing the formation of malignant tumors; anticancer. Adj. 1. activity and time to disease progression will be measured as secondary endpoints of the study. The trial, which began patient recruitment in July 1998, will enroll up to 30 subjects and is being conducted under the direction of Jonathan W. Simons, M.D., of The Johns Hopkins Noun 1. Johns Hopkins - United States financier and philanthropist who left money to found the university and hospital that bear his name in Baltimore (1795-1873) Hopkins 2. Brady Urological Institute and The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. "The attractiveness of this potential therapeutic is that it has the promise of addressing a major shortcoming short·com·ing n. A deficiency; a flaw. shortcoming Noun a fault or weakness Noun 1. of many cancer therapeutics today -- their non-selective toxic effects on healthy cells as well as toxic effects on cancer cells," said Dr. Simons. "We are looking forward to testing CN706 for prostate cancer, a disease which kills over 39,000 men in the U.S. each year." Single Treatment Effective in Animal Trials A common cold virus (adenovirus adenovirus Any of a group of spheroidal viruses, made up of DNA wrapped in a protein coat, that cause sore throat and fever in humans, hepatitis in dogs, and several diseases in fowl, mice, cattle, pigs, and monkeys. ) has been engineered so that it grows only in human cancer cells in which prostate-specific antigen prostate-specific antigen n. Abbr. PSA A protease secreted by the epithelial cells of the prostate gland. Serum levels are elevated in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. , or PSA (Professional Services Automation) An information system designed to organize, track and manage all opportunities, work, resources, costs, revenues and invoices to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce. , is present. PSA is the primary marker for prostate cancer and is used in diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. In experiments in mice with compromised immune systems, a single injection of CN706 reduced a one-gram tumor by an average rate of 84 percent. These findings were reported in Cancer Research, July 1997. At the same time, all treated animals were free of tumor and detectable serum PSA six weeks after treatment. In laboratory tests, CN706 has demonstrated a therapeutic index of over 400:1, meaning that over 400 cancerous prostate cells were destroyed for each non-cancerous cell destroyed. By comparison, the therapeutic ratios of the traditional chemotherapy drugs are at best 6:1. Since Calydon's virus replicates in PSA expressing prostate cells, the therapeutic effect of a single dose is amplified as the virus replicates through the tumor. Calydon, Inc., a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. , is engaged in the discovery and development of new viral therapeutics that target prostate and other cancers. The company is focused on the development of tissue-specific viruses that selectively infect and destroy cancer cells. For information on participating in the trial, contact Johns Hopkins at 410/614-4234.
CONTACT: Calydon, Inc.
Christine Gray-Smith, 408/752-8752 (V.P., CFO)
info@calydon.com
http://www.calydon.com
or
Milestones
Lorraine Ruff, 206/214-0050 (Media)
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