Kazia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:KZA) (NASDAQ:KZIA) has completed the recruitment of patients into Part B of its phase I clinical study of Cantrixil in ovarian cancer.
Cantrixil is a third-generation benzopyran molecule with activity against cancer stem cells and is being developed to treat ovarian cancer.
Background
Part A of the study collected data from an initial 14 patients, who received escalating doses of Cantrixil to determine safety and tolerability.
A maximum tolerated dose of 5 mg/kg was achieved, and this data was reported at the American Association of Cancer Research conference on April 1 2019.
Final completion of the study in 2020
Part B was designed to enroll 12 patients, all of whom will receive Cantrixil at a dose of 5 mg/kg. Part B will seek preliminary signals of potential efficacy for the drug.
Initial data from Part B is expected in the fourth quarter of calendar 2019, with final completion of the study in 2020.
Kazia chief executive officer Dr James Garner said: “Part B of the Cantrixil study has recruited well and we are now following patients through to completion of their treatment.
“We are grateful for the excellent efforts of the participating clinicians, and of the study team. The first part of the study has shown some very promising signals, and the data from Part B will significantly enhance our understanding of the drug.
“We will be presenting data at the ESMO conference at the end of September, and this will be valuable opportunity to move forward our partnering discussions for Cantrixil.”
Low survival rate for ovarian cancer
About 240,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year worldwide and it is the eighth most common cause of cancer death in women.
Conventional treatment typically includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.
However, the five-year survival rate remains low, at about 45%, reflecting the fact that the disease is often advanced at the time of diagnosis.