Antisoma's aptamer drug receives EU orphan drug status for renal, pancreatic cancers

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Feb. 22 - Antisoma plc said that its aptamer drug, AS1411, has been granted orphan drug status in the European Union for the treatment of renal and pancreatic cancers, providing 10 years of market exclusivity if AS1411 is approved as a treatment for either disease.

The drug already has U.S. orphan drug status for both renal and pancreatic cancers, according to a company news release.

Aptamers, short pieces of DNA or RNA, can fold into stable, three-dimensional structures capable of interacting with particular target proteins. AS1411 is the first aptamer to be tested as a treatment for cancer, the release stated.

AS1411 has shown promise in patients with renal cancer. Two of three patients participating in a phase 1 trial showed long-term stable disease and one a near-complete response.

An extension of this trial is recruiting additional renal cancer patients and will yield new data during 2006, the company said.

Pancreatic cancer is one of a number of cancers, including both solid and blood cancers, in which supportive preclinical data for AS1411 exists. Antisoma said it is working to identify which indications should receive the highest priority for entry into phase 2 trials.

Based in London, Antisoma is a biopharmaceutical company that develops products for the treatment of cancer.

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