Biopharmaceutical company Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTIC) said Monday that its new class of platinum-based anti-tumor compounds, called bis-platinates, demonstrated a stronger anti-tumor potency and activity, compared to currently available platinum-based compounds as well as the ability to overcome cisplatin-resistance in cancer cell lines.
The Seattle, Washington-based company noted that platinum-based compounds, such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin, have a pivotal role in the treatment of testicular, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancers. However, their effectiveness is restricted by the low therapeutic ratio, ratio of the maximally tolerated dose of the drug to the effective dose, and the frequent occurrence of drug resistance. The novel bis-platinum compounds represent a completely new class of platinum-based drugs called bisplatinates, Cell Therapeutics added.
Unlike platinum-based compounds, the bis-platinum based compounds contain two platinum atoms and work by binding to and damaging both strands of DNA. This makes it much more difficult for cancer cells to repair the damage. The research demonstrated through cancer cell assays and animal tumor models that the bis-platinum complexes showed greater cytotoxic potency and anti-tumor effect, compared to cisplatin and oxaliplatin.
According to the company, there was more than a 200-fold increase in percent accumulation in tumor cells of the bisplatinum compounds, compared to cisplatin and oxaliplatin. The bisplatinates were substantially more active against human tumors grown in an immunodeficient preclinical model than the standard palatinate compounds, oxaliplatin, carboplatin and cisplatin, Cell Therapeutics added.
Additionally, the bis-platinum compounds demonstrated the ability to overcome tumor resistance to cisplatin mediated by DNA mismatch repair defects. The complexes showed marked anti-tumor efficacy in platinum refractory tumors, with significant activity in terms of tumor growth inhibition and tumor growth delay.
Jack Singer, Chief Medical Officer of the company, said, "The current results are encouraging as they demonstrate that the bisplatinates are not only more effective in human tumor models than the current agents, but also capable of overcoming some forms of palatinate resistance."
The company said it is targeting starting human clinical trials as early as the end of 2010.
The results were presented in a paper titled "Novel Bis-platinum Complexes Endowed with an Improved Pharmacological Profile," by Laura Gatti et al, which was published in the online edition of the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.
CTIC closed Friday's regular trade at $1.11, up $0.01 or 0.91%, on 9.02 million shares.
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