EntreMed to consider possible partnering opportunities

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Oct. 18 - EntreMed Inc. is investigating possible co-development opportunities with corporate partners for product candidates in its portfolio, EntreMed president and chief executive officer James S. Burns said during the 2006 Bio InvestorForum in San Francisco on Wednesday.

The company currently owns all of the compounds in its clinical and preclinical pipeline.

Burns said a likely candidate for a corporate partnership is EntreMed's aurora kinase inhibitor program, which is currently in preclinical development. EntreMed has selected a lead compound for the program and is performing studies aimed at filing an Investigation New Drug application in 2007.

In addition, EntreMed has three compounds in clinical development, two of which are in phase 2 studies.

"We have deliberately looked to balance between clinical and preclinical programs," Burns said.

Burns also told investors that the company expects to use about $25 million this year but believes its cash will be sufficient through the end of 2007.

EntreMed's lead product candidate is Panzem NCD, which is being studied in phase 2 clinical trials for advanced solid tumors, glioblastoma multiform, metastatic breast cancer, carcinoid tumors and hormone-refractory prostate cancer. EntreMed plans to conduct additional phase 2 clinical trials of the drug in ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and renal cell carcinoma, Burns said.

The company is also conducting preclinical studies of Panzem NCD as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

EntreMed is also testing a second oncology compound, MCK-1, in an ongoing phase 2 clinical trial with 60 breast cancer patients and in a phase 1 clinical trial for hematological cancer patients. An additional trial of MCK-1 is planned in non-small cell lung cancer in combination with Alimta for the fourth quarter, and the company will also study the drug in pancreatic and ovarian cancers.

The company expects to report preliminary data from the breast cancer trial in early 2007, Burns said.

In initial phase 1 and phase 2 trials of MCK-1, responses were seen in breast and non-small cell lung cancer patients, he said.

EntreMed's final clinical candidate, ENMD-1198 - which is a novel antiproliferative and antiangiogenic agent - is currently being studied in a phase 1b dose escalation study. The company plans to report results from the study in 2007.

EntreMed is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company located in Rockville, Md.

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