OXiGENE's CA4P Becomes First Vascular Targeting Agent
to be Combined with Monoclonal Antibody in Human
Trials
Tuesday September 30, 8:30 am ET
Company's Lead Compound Enters Clinical Study in
Advanced Colorectal Cancer


WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003--
OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN, XSSE: OXGN) today
announced the initiation of a Phase I/II combination
trial of its lead anti-cancer agent, Combretastatin A4
Prodrug (CA4P), and the iodine-labeled antibody A5B7
((131)I-A5B7), in patients with advanced colorectal
cancer. With this study, CA4P is now involved in five
concurrent human oncology trials in the United States
and Europe.
Approximately 35 patients are expected to be recruited
for the trial, the world's first human study combining
a Vascular Targeting Agent (VTA) with
radioimmunotherapy (RIT). The study will be carried
out at Mount Vernon and Royal Free Hospitals in the
United Kingdom under the sponsorship of Cancer
Research UK, the world's largest volunteer-supported
cancer research organization. Among the trial's
objectives: the assessment of the safety profile of
the combination of (131)I-A5B7 and CA4P, the gathering
of preliminary evidence of efficacy and a
determination of the maximum tolerated regimen. The
trial has received approval from the U.K.'s Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

"This study fulfills one of the key milestones we
established early in 2003 - the initiation of
additional clinical trials of CA4P aimed at specific
cancer indications," said OXiGENE President and Chief
Executive Officer Fred Driscoll. "CA4P is now being
evaluated as a single agent as well as in separate
combination trials with radiotherapy, chemotherapy
and, now, a monoclonal antibody. These combination
trials will demonstrate whether CA4P has the potential
to significantly enhance the clinical benefit in a
variety of approaches to cancer treatment in large
disease settings."

Independent researchers funded by Cancer Research UK
have studied the combination of (131)I-A5B7 and CA4P
in human colorectal cancer tumors implanted in mice.
Reporting their findings in a study published in the
June 2001 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer
Research, researchers noted that combining RIT with
CA4P "can convert tumor growth inhibition into tumor
eradication in mice." While RIT administered alone
inhibited tumor growth for approximately 35 days,
after which all tumors regrew, the combination of RIT
and CA4P produced a significantly greater effect:
Tumors were eradicated in 85 percent of mice, with a
single tumor regrowing at 97 days.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
cancer-related deaths in the United States. In 2003,
an estimated 57,100 Americans will die of the disease
and 147,500 new cases will be diagnosed, according to
The American Cancer Society.

"Conventional treatments remain relatively ineffective
in curing patients with advanced colorectal cancer, so
there is a significant need for novel therapies," said
the trial's coordinating investigator, Professor
Richard H.J. Begent, M.D., head of the oncology
department at Royal Free Hospital in London. "The
anti-tumor activity exhibited by the combination of
(131)I-A5B7 and CA4P in pre-clinical tests suggests
that this is a promising therapeutic strategy for
patients with this disease."

RIT uses an antibody designed to channel radiation
directly to tumors, achieving a targeted therapy. A5B7
belongs to a class of compounds known as "anti-CEA"
(carcinoembryonic antigen) antibodies because it
targets a glycoprotein known to be present in
metastatic colorectal cancer. When it is radiolabeled,
A5B7 delivers targeted radiation to the tumor.
Professor Begent and his team believe that the
infusion of (131)I-A5B7, followed by CA4P, might
enhance the effect of the radioimmunotherapy by
trapping the antibody in the tumor. The study will
include patients with CEA-producing tumors in addition
to advanced colorectal carcinoma. Tumor response will
be evaluated by a variety of radiological methods.



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