Print
Email
Print Edition StoriesMonday, July 28, 2008
Millennium moves anti-cancer drugs forward
By Mass High Tech Staff
The company formerly known as Millennium Pharmaceuticals and now called Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company says it has launched a Phase 1 trial series of an anti-cancer cell compound.
According to Millennium officials, the two Phase 1 dose escalation studies will look at the safety, tolerability and effects in patients with advanced solid tumors or with hematological malignancies of the compound MLN4924. The compound is the company’s first-in-class, small molecule inhibitor of the Nedd 8 Activating Enzyme (NAE), which was discovered by Millennium. NAE controls a subset of proteins that regulate cancer cell survival.
At the same time, Cambridge-based Millennium is initiating a Phase 1 hematologic trial of another anti-cancer compound MLN8237, which is an Aurora A kinase inhibitor. According to company officials, pre-clinical results showed substantial activity in pediatric neuroblastoma and acute lymphocytic leukemia. Millennium says it plans to expand the program into Phase 2 trials in late 2008 or early 2009.
Earlier this year, Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. acquired Millennium Pharmaceuticals for approximately $8.8 billion in cash.
Millennium markets Velcade, an injectable blood cancer drug, in more than 85 countries, and has a product in its pipeline that could help treat inflammatory bowel disease. That product is expected to enter Phase 3 clinical trials in late 2008 or early 2009, company officials said.
RSS Feeds
Comments
Please Login/Register to post comments.
No comments have been added or approved.