Ariad to present new data on novel mTOR inhibitor for cancer at annual oncology meeting

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., May 22 - Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said U.S. and European clinical investigators will present updated data from the company's phase 2 and phase 1b trials of the novel mTOR inhibitor, AP23573, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Atlanta.

"We continue to make excellent progress in the clinical development of our lead oncology product candidate, AP23573, and are on track to launch our pivotal trial in patients with sarcomas by year-end 2006," chairman and chief executive officer Harvey J. Berger said in a company news release.

Presentations include phase 2 clinical results on AP23573 as a single agent in patients with advanced soft-tissue and bone sarcoma and phase 1b results on AP23573 in combination with the chemotherapy agent capecitabine in patients with solid tumors.

Ariad's lead product candidate, AP23573, is a novel small-molecule inhibitor of the protein mTOR, that when blocked, creates a starvation-like effect in cancer cells, the company said.

AP23573 has received both fast track designation and orphan drug status from the Food and Drug Administration.

Located in Cambridge, Mass., Ariad develops medicines to treat cancer by regulating cell signaling with small molecules.

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